BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A federal prosecutor on Wednesday formally charged Argentina's former President Alberto Fernández with committing violence against former first lady Fabiola Yáñez.
Prosecutor Ramiro González charged Fernández with the crimes of “minor and serious injuries, doubly aggravated” and “coercive threats” against his ex-partner, according to a ruling seen by The Associated Press.
González also requested additional evidence measures including taking testimonies from former presidential doctor Federico Saavedra and former secretary of the president María Cantero, among others.
Fernández, a left-leaning Peronist politician who was president of Argentina from 2019 to 2023, vigorously denied her allegations and promised he would prove to the courts “what really happened.”
Yáñez testified Tuesday before an Argentine federal court as part of a case in which she denounced Fernández for alleged gender violence.
The former first lady gave a testimonial statement via video call from Argentina’s consulate in Madrid, where she resides, confirming to prosecutor González the complaint she had filed last week in writing.
The charges against Fernández come weeks after Yáñez’s accusations first surfaced among thousands of leaked text messages under scrutiny by federal investigators in a separate embezzlement case against Fernández. That case accuses Fernández of irregularities in awarding state insurance contracts — allegations he also denies.
In recent days, the Argentine press has published images in which Yáñez’s face and armpit can be seen with marks of what would be blows and that the former first lady would have sent via message to Fernández’s former secretary.
Since Yáñez’s accusations came to light, Fernández has not been seen outside the apartment where he lives in Buenos Aires.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
FILE - Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez attends a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, at the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Argentine prosecutor charges former President Fernández with committing violence against ex-partner
Argentine prosecutor charges former President Fernández with committing violence against ex-partner
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine made a new call Saturday on the West to allow it to strike deeper into Russia after a meeting between U.S. and British leaders a day earlier produced no visible shift in their policy on the use of long-range weapons.
The renewed appeal came as Kyiv said Russia launched more drone and artillery attacks into Ukraine overnight.
“Russian terror begins at weapons depots, airfields and military bases inside the Russian Federation,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said Saturday. “Permission to strike deep into Russia will speed up the solution.”
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called on allies to greenlight the use of Western-provided long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. So far, the U.S. has allowed Kyiv to use American-provided weapons only in a limited area inside Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Discussions on allowing long-range strikes were believed to be on the table when U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in Washington on Friday but no decision was announced immediately.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing the U.S. and other allies to allow his forces to use Western weapons to target air bases and launch sites farther afield as Russia has stepped up assaults on Ukraine’s electricity grid and utilities before winter.
He did not directly comment on the meeting Saturday morning, but said that more than 70 Russian drones had been launched into Ukraine overnight. The Ukrainian air force later said that 76 Russian drones had been sighted, of which 72 were shot down.
“We need to boost our air defense and long-range capabilities to protect our people,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “We are working on this with all of Ukraine’s partners.”
Other overnight attacks saw one person killed by Russian artillery fire as energy infrastructure was targeted in Ukraine’s Sumy region. A 54-year-old driver was killed and seven more people were hospitalized, Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy said.
Another three people died Saturday in a Russian strike on an agricultural enterprise in the front-line town of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region, Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.
Meanwhile, officials in Moscow have continued to make public statements warning that long-range strikes would provoke further escalation between Russia and the West. The remarks are in line with the narrative the Kremlin has promoted since early in the war, accusing NATO countries of de-facto participation in the conflict and threatening a response.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency Tass on Saturday that the U.S. and British governments were pushing the conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, toward “poorly controlled escalation.”
Biden on Friday brushed off similar comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said on Thursday that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.”
Asked what he thought about Putin’s threat, Biden answered, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.”
Russian and Ukrainian officials also announced on Saturday a prisoner swap brokered by the United Arab Emirates. It included 206 prisoners on both sides, including Russians captured in Ukraine’s incursion in the Kursk region.
The swap is the eighth of its kind since the beginning of 2024, and puts the total number of POWs exchanged at 1,994. Previous exchanges were also brokered by the UAE.
Both sides released images of soldiers traveling to meet friends and family, with Zelenskyy commenting, “Our people are home."
Elsewhere, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 19 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over the country’s Kursk and Belgorod regions.
A woman also died Saturday after a Ukrainian shell hit her home in the border village of Bezlyudovka, Belgorod regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A Ukrainian poses for a selfie as he is greeted after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Ukrainians pose for a photo after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Ukrainians pose for a photo after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Ukrainians pose for a photo after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
A Ukrainian reacts after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Ukrainians react after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
A Ukrainian serviceman, left, is greeted after being released in a prisoner exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Saturday Sept. 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
