KYIV: Ukrainian shelling of the Russian city of Belgorod killed two people, officials said Saturday, while Russia claimed to have thwarted a new attempt by saboteurs to cross the border.
Saturday’s attacks occurred as Russians entered the second day of voting in a presidential election that is all but certain to extend Vladimir Putin’s rule by another six years after he crushed dissent.
A man and a woman died in the attack and three other people were wounded, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app. It was the latest in exchanges of long-range missile and rocket fire in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Five people were also wounded when a Ukrainian drone hit a car in the village of Glotovo, some 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) from the Ukrainian border, Gladkov said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry also said Saturday that it had thwarted attempts by “Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups” to enter the country from Ukraine’s Sumy region. That followed an armed incursion claimed by Ukraine-based Russian opponents of the Kremlin on Tuesday in the Belgorod and Kursk regions,
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Moscow’s military and security forces killed 30 fighters while thwarting the latest incursion.
The Russian Volunteer Corps — one of the groups who claimed to have crossed the border on Tuesday, who say they are “fighting for the freedom of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples” — released a video on social media Saturday claiming to have captured 25 Russian soldiers.
Cross-border attacks in the area have occurred sporadically since the war began and have been the subject of claims and counterclaims, as well as disinformation and propaganda.
Also on Saturday, a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil refinery belonging to Russian oil giant Rosneft in the Samara region, some 450 miles (725 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, regional Gov. Dmitry Azarov said. He said an attack on another refinery was thwarted. No casualties were reported.
A Ukrainian drone also dropped an explosive close to a polling station in the illegally annexed Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, Russian state news agency Tass said. No injuries or damage were reported.
The attacks come a day after a Russian assault on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed at least 21 people. The ballistic missile attack blasted homes in the southern city Friday, followed by a second missile that targeted first responders who arrived at the scene, officials said.
More than 50 people are still in the hospital following the attacks, Odesa Deputy Mayor Svitlana Bedreha said Saturday, according to Ukrainian state media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised a “just response” to the attack in a video address Friday evening.
Russia says Ukrainian shelling killed 2 in a border city while it thwarted an incursion
https://arab.news/mp66p
Russia says Ukrainian shelling killed 2 in a border city while it thwarted an incursion
- A man and a woman died in the attack and three other people were wounded, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app
- Five people were also wounded when a Ukrainian drone hit a car in the village of Glotovo
Pakistan Embassy denies role in Kabul visa black market as Afghans turn to agents
- Arab News investigation earlier found how Afghans resort to tour agents, pay up to $1,800 to obtain Pakistani visas
- Any additional money charged by travel agents is ‘outside the purview’ of the embassy, spokesperson says
KABUL: The Pakistani Embassy in Kabul has rejected reports of knowledge of a black market for Pakistani visas, emphasizing its unwavering commitment to a fair and accessible visa system for Afghans.
An Arab News investigation published last month found Afghans resorting to tour agents and paying exorbitant prices to obtain Pakistani travel documents, with desperate applicants paying between $1,300 and $1,800 for visas that officially cost more than 50 times less.
In a rebuttal shared with Arab News, the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul said it “has no official agents, intermediaries, or affiliated travel companies authorized to collect money” from visa applicants.
“The embassy’s official visa fee is published transparently and must be paid directly via credit card. We are aware that many applicants lack credit cards and often rely on local agents for assistance with the online payment,” Sayed Khizar Ali, the embassy’s press counsellor, said in a statement to Arab News.
“Our commitment to a transparent, fair, and accessible visa system for our Afghan brothers remains unwavering.”
Multiple travel agencies in Kabul and Nangarhar that earlier confirmed to Arab News that Pakistani visas are traded on the black market have maintained their statements.
“How can it be outside their control when we send applications and they come back approved within three days?” one manager of a travel agency who declined to be named told Arab News this week.
“The embassy stamps the visas. They know where they come from.”
He said his agency has been processing dozens of visas weekly since October, after tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan rose following a week of deadly clashes at their shared border.
“The travel agencies that are registered with them, we are the only way. If you don’t go through us, you won’t get a visa,” he said.
Despite the embassy’s denial that it does not work through travel agents, public advertisements by several tour agents offering services for “guaranteed” medical and tourist visas can be seen both online and on their storefronts. Though prices are negotiated privately, many openly promise quick turnarounds of just a few days.
The Afghan Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment, despite repeated attempts by Arab News.
Pakistan’s visa fee for Afghan nationals is approximately $25, paid through a fully digital online system. But applicants who attempt to follow this channel told Arab News the process often ends in silent rejection after months of waiting.
Asma, an Afghan national who has been trying to join her fiance in Switzerland, had to go through tour agents to obtain her and her father’s Pakistan visas.
“I applied online through the official channel. That was four months ago. I never heard anything back. No response, no explanation — just complete silence,” Asma told Arab News earlier.
The cost to obtain the travel documents was double for her, as her father also had to apply in order to accompany her due to Afghanistan’s strict travel rules for unmarried women.
“We heard from neighbors that some agencies in Kabul could get it done faster … We went there,” she said, adding that they received their visas on WhatsApp three days later — not through official channels but through a cousin’s contact.
One agency employee who agreed to speak anonymously earlier described a system organized around waiting lists and contacts at the Pakistani Embassy and consulates in Kabul, Nangarhar, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.
“We have lists. Each list works like seats on a plane. When one list is full, we start filling the next. Every day, a list goes out — meaning visas are issued daily,” he said.
“These days, no visa costs less than $1,300 and none exceed $1,800. This rate has been stable for over a month.”
However, the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul maintained that these reports are “unfounded and most unfortunate.
“Any additional money these private agents may charge applicants is an illegal and unofficial practice that occurs entirely outside the purview and control of the embassy.”
