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Ukraine Says Naval Drone Destroys Russian Helicopter for 1st Time

People attend a memorial prayer for fallen soldiers at the Lychakiv's cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, 28 December 2024, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA
People attend a memorial prayer for fallen soldiers at the Lychakiv's cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, 28 December 2024, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA
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Ukraine Says Naval Drone Destroys Russian Helicopter for 1st Time

People attend a memorial prayer for fallen soldiers at the Lychakiv's cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, 28 December 2024, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA
People attend a memorial prayer for fallen soldiers at the Lychakiv's cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, 28 December 2024, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA

Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday one of its naval drones had destroyed a Russian helicopter and damaged another one in the Black Sea.
In a battle near Cape Tarkhankut on Crimea's west coast on Tuesday, a Magura V5 maritime drone equipped with missiles hit a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, Ukraine's GUR spy agency said on Telegram.
GUR said it was the first time a Ukrainian naval drone had downed an air target. Reuters could not independently verify the report.
There was no comment from Moscow on the helicopter. Russia's Defense Ministry said on Telegram its Black Sea Fleet destroyed eight unmanned drone vessels.
The downing of a Russian helicopter by a Ukrainian naval drone was also reported by the prominent Russian military blogger, Voenny Osvedomitel. The GUR said a second Russian helicopter managed to get to the airfield after it was damaged in the attack.
In grainy footage released by GUR, a helicopter flying over water could be seen targeted by several projectiles. The aircraft is filmed falling down after the attack. Reuters could not immediately verify the video.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has ramped up drone production and developed naval attack drones.
Kyiv's military has used maritime drones to strike Russian warships and facilities on the Crimean peninsula, seized and annexed by Moscow in 2014.

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US Congress Certifies Trump Election Victory for Jan. 20 Inauguration

US Vice President Kamala Harris attends a joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump's election, at the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
US Vice President Kamala Harris attends a joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump's election, at the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Congress Certifies Trump Election Victory for Jan. 20 Inauguration

US Vice President Kamala Harris attends a joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump's election, at the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
US Vice President Kamala Harris attends a joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump's election, at the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

The US Congress formally certified Republican President-elect Donald Trump's November election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, clearing the way for him to be sworn in on Jan. 20.

The certification of the election results on Monday in the 50 states and the District of Columbia was accomplished in a brief, formal ceremony during a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate. It was presided over by Harris, acting in her vice-presidential role as president of the Senate.

The quadrennial ritual stood in sharp contrast to four years ago when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed bid to block the certification of then-President Trump's 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

Trump continues to falsely claim that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud, and had warned throughout his 2024 campaign that he harbored similar concerns until his Nov. 5 defeat of Harris.

"Congress certifies our great election victory today - a big moment in history. MAGA!" Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday.

The joint session of Congress proceeded even as a winter storm hovered over the nation's capital, dropping about 6 inches (15 cm) of snow and snarling travel.

The final certification backed up preliminary findings that Trump won 312 Electoral College votes to Harris's 226.

REPUBLICANS CONTROL WHITE HOUSE, CONGRESS

Republicans also captured a majority in the US Senate and held a narrow edge in the House in November's election, which will give Trump the party support he needs to implement his planned agenda of tax cuts and a crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally.

Democrats did not try to block certification of Trump's victory on Monday.

"We must renew our commitment to safeguarding American democracy," No. 2 House Democrat Katherine Clark said in a statement earlier in the day. "As elected leaders, our loyalty must be to the Constitution, first and always. We are here to honor the will of the people and the rule of law."

Security inside and outside the Capitol was heightened in preparation for the certification and was expected to remain in place through Trump's swearing-in.

The Capitol grounds were ringed by metal fences hundreds of yards from the US Capitol, and accessible only via checkpoints guarded by uniformed police officers.

Convoys of black police vehicles were on hand, led by a 10-wheel Baltimore police mobile command center. New York Police Department reinforcements were also patrolling the area.

Inside, extra teams of uniformed US Capitol Police officers were checking IDs at entrance sites including doors and underground tunnels leading to the House and Senate chambers.

Trump has said he plans to pardon some of the more than 1,500 people charged with taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, when a mob fought with police, smashing its way in through windows and doors and chanting, "Hang Mike Pence," referring to Trump's then-vice president, in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory.

In the 2021 melee at the Capitol, rioters surged past police barricades, assaulting about 140 officers and causing more than $2.8 million in damage. Multiple police officers who battled protesters died in the weeks that followed, some by suicide.

As a result of that day's violence, Congress passed legislation late in 2022 bolstering guardrails to ensure that the certification process is administered in a legal manner.

Many of these changes were directly in response to Trump's actions leading up to and including Jan. 6, 2021. For example, the new law asserts that the vice president's role is largely ceremonial.