Russian Chief of Staff Praises Capture of Ukrainian Village, Sets New Targets

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Russian Army Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, center, visits at the command post of the battlegroup East in an undisclosed location.(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Russian Army Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, center, visits at the command post of the battlegroup East in an undisclosed location.(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
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Russian Chief of Staff Praises Capture of Ukrainian Village, Sets New Targets

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Russian Army Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, center, visits at the command post of the battlegroup East in an undisclosed location.(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Russian Army Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, center, visits at the command post of the battlegroup East in an undisclosed location.(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

The chief of Russia's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, thanked Russian forces on Tuesday for capturing the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

Ukraine has offered no official comment on who controls the village, which was seized by Russian forces at the outset of the February 2022 invasion and recaptured by Ukraine last year.

Russian forces have captured a string of villages since seizing the strategic city of Avdiivka in Donetsk region in February. The region is the focal point of Russia's slow advance through eastern Ukraine along the 1,000-km (600-mile) front.

Unofficial Ukrainian bloggers acknowledged that Ukrainian forces had relinquished control of Urozhaine. Bloggers also reported that Ukraine had fallen back from another contested village in Kherson region in the south.

Reuters could not independently verify accounts from either side.

The Russian Defense Ministry first announced the capture of Urozhaine on Sunday and its latest account said Gerasimov had heard a report from a commander of the "east" group of forces.

"Summing up the report, the chief of staff noted the success of the 'east' group in liberating the locality of Urozhaine and set new tasks for further activity," the ministry said in a statement.

The report gave no further details.

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces made no mention of Urozhaine in its late evening report, but reported fighting in two areas further north in Donetsk region.

Ukrainian war bloggers posted what they described as a Russian video showing Moscow's forces planting a flag atop the Urozhaine administration building.

One Ukrainian military blog, Realna Viyna (Real War), said Ukrainian forces had pulled out of Urozhaine and the village of Krynky in southern Kherson region weeks ago.

Kherson region was occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the invasion, but Ukraine retook large swathes of the region several months later, including the highly publicized capture of Krynky on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.

Russian forces have remained entrenched on the eastern bank and regularly shell parts of the region on the opposite bank.



Trudeau in Florida to Meet Trump as Tariff Threats Loom

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable
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Trudeau in Florida to Meet Trump as Tariff Threats Loom

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Florida on Friday for a dinner with Donald Trump at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago estate, as the incoming US leader promised tariffs on Canadian imports.
The unannounced meeting came at the end of a week that has seen Canada as well as Mexico scramble to blunt the impact of Trump's trade threats, which experts have warned could also hit US consumers hard, AFP said.
A smiling Trudeau was seen exiting a hotel in West Palm Beach before arriving at Mar-a-Lago, making him the latest high-profile guest of Trump, whose impending second term -- which starts in January -- is already overshadowing the last few months of President Joe Biden's administration.
Flight trackers had first spotted a jet broadcasting the prime minister's callsign making its way to the southern US state. A Canadian government source later told AFP that the two leaders were dining together.
Trump caused panic among some of the biggest US trading partners on Monday when he said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Mexican and Canadian imports and 10 percent on goods from China.
He accused the countries of not doing enough to halt the "invasion" of the United States by drugs, "in particular fentanyl," and undocumented migrants.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with Trump by phone on Wednesday, though the two leaders' accounts of the conversation differed drastically.
Trump claimed that Mexico's left-wing president had "agreed to stop migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."
Sheinbaum later said she had discussed US-supported anti-migration policies that have long been in place in Mexico.
She said that after that, the talks had no longer revolved around the threat of tariff hikes, downplaying the risk of a trade war.
Billions in trade
Biden warned that same day that Trump's tariff threats could "screw up" Washington's relationships with Ottawa and Mexico City.
"I think it's a counterproductive thing to do," Biden told reporters.
Trudeau did not respond to questions from the media as he returned to his hotel Friday evening after meeting with Trump.
But for Canada, the stakes of any new tariffs are high.
More than three-quarters of Canadian exports, or Can$592.7 billion ($423 billion), went to the United States last year, and nearly two million Canadian jobs are dependent on trade.
A Canadian government source told AFP that Canada is considering possible retaliatory tariffs against the United States.
Some have suggested Trump's tariff threat may be bluster, or an opening salvo in future trade negotiations. But Trudeau rejected those views when he spoke with reporters earlier in Prince Edward Island province.

"Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out," Trudeau said. "There's no question about it."
According to the website Flightradar, the Canadian leader's plane landed at Palm Beach International Airport late Friday afternoon.
Canadian public broadcaster CBC said that Trudeau's public safety minister, Dominic LeBlanc, was accompanying him on the trip.