Russia claims hitting Ukraine's 2 US-made guided aerial bombs, Ukraine says repelling multiple Russian attacks

Russia and Ukraine continued their cut-throat fighting Saturday, with the former claiming destroying two U.S.-made guided aerial bombs of the Ukrainian army and shooting down 110 Ukrainian drones, and the latter saying beating back several Russian attacks. On Saturday, the Russian defense ministry reported that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces had pushed deeper into Ukrainian defensive lines in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, securing more advantageous positions.

Russian air defense forces destroyed two U.S.-made guided aerial bombs of the Ukrainian army and shot down 110 Ukrainian drones, it said.

Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated in a briefing that, as of Saturday afternoon, nearly 100 combat engagements had taken place along the front lines, with the most intense fightings occurring in Lyman, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka.

It said Ukrainian forces repelled multiple Russian offensives.

Russia and Ukraine conducted another prisoner swap on Saturday under an agreement reached during their talks in Türkiye's Istanbul last week, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

A group of Ukrainian prisoners of war was handed over to Kiev, said the ministry, not disclosing the number of released prisoners.

Russia also returned the remains of 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers on Saturday, following the repatriation of 1,212 bodies on Wednesday and 1,200 on Friday, a representative of the Russian negotiating group told the Tass news agency.

Russia agreed to return the bodies of 6,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers after the Istanbul talks on June 2.

Russia claims hitting Ukraine's 2 US-made guided aerial bombs, Ukraine says repelling multiple Russian attacks

Russia claims hitting Ukrain's 2 US-made guided aerial bombs, Ukraine says repelling multiple Russian attacks

Russia claims hitting Ukrain's 2 US-made guided aerial bombs, Ukraine says repelling multiple Russian attacks

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that the country is at a critical stage and must achieve national unity, emphasizing that maintaining internal cohesion is of utmost importance.

In a televised address, Rodriguez called on the public to continue trusting the government under the current highly complex political circumstances.

Her statement comes in the wake of a January 3 military operation conducted by the United States, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and flown out of the country.

The operation resulted in at least 100 fatalities.

Rodriguez, who was sworn in as acting president two days later on January 5, framed her appeal for unity against this backdrop of external intervention.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Freddy Nanez denounced the U.S. actions as a "war crime of the 21st century" when speaking at an international cultural event on Sunday.

Nanez condemned not only the January 3 airstrikes but also the associated cyber and electromagnetic attacks.

He accused the United States of violating international law through the forced removal of President Maduro and his wife, while attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, represent a flagrant breach of humanitarian norms.

He reiterated that the stigmatization and military attacks against Venezuela are driven by economic interests, particularly the desire to control its abundant natural resources.

Venezuelan acting president calls for national unity amid complex situation