Ukraine has destroyed or damaged all three bridges over Russia’s Seym River, Russian sources say

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian sources say that Ukrainian forces have either destroyed or damaged all three of the bridges over the Seym River in western Russia as Kyiv’s incursion into western Russia enters its third week. Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk oblast is changing the trajectory of the war and boosting morale among Ukraine’s war-weary population, though the ultimate outcome of the daring incursion remains impossible to predict. Meanwhile Tuesday a massive fire burned for the third consecutive day elsewhere in western Russia after an oil depot was hit by Ukrainian drones. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainians of “trying to destabilize our country” and vowed revenge.

Spanish woman believed to be the oldest person in the world has died at age 117

MADRID (AP) — Maria Branyas, an American-born Spaniard considered the world’s oldest person at 117 years old, has died, her family says. In a post on Branyas’ X account, her family wrote that “she has gone the way she wanted: in her sleep, at peace, and without pain.” The Gerontology Research Group validates details of people thought to be 110 or older. The group listed Branyas as the oldest known person in the world. Branyas was born in San Francisco in 1907. At the time of her death she was living in a nursing home in the town of Olot in northeast Spain.

Russia’s top court refuses to release Navalny’s lawyers

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court has refused to release three lawyers who once represented Russia’s slain opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, and are now facing charges of extremism. The court also refused to transfer their case to a different court, even as the defense alleged a conflict of interest. Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptser were arrested in October in a case widely seen as a means to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin foe. According to Navalny’s allies, authorities accused the lawyers of using their status as defense attorneys to pass letters from the imprisoned politician to members of his Anti-Corruption Foundation, labelled “extremist” in 2021.

Deep seas and tight spaces impede search for 6 missing after yacht sinks off Sicily

PORTICELLO, Sicily (AP) — Police divers have resumed searching for six people believed trapped in the hull of a superyacht that sank off Sicily. They include British tech magnate Mike Lynch, who was celebrating his recent acquittal on fraud charges with the people who had defended him at trial. The luxury sailboat, off Porticello near Palermo, is some 50 meters underwater. That depth requires special precautions and rescue crews said they were working in 12-minute shifts. The Bayesian is a 56-meter yacht that was moored about a kilometer offshore when a storm rolled in early Monday. Civil protection officials said they believed the ship was struck by a tornado over the water, known as a waterspout. Fifteen of the 22 people aboard survived.Corruption Foundation, labelled “extremist” in 2021.