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Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Russian retaliation for a Ukrainian targeted strike, the United States killing an Islamic State leader in Syria as U.S. diplomats visit Damascus, and Canada’s cabinet reshuffle.

World Brief will be taking a short break for the holiday season. The newsletter will return to your inbox on Dec. 30.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Russian retaliation for a Ukrainian targeted strike, the United States killing an Islamic State leader in Syria as U.S. diplomats visit Damascus, and Canada’s cabinet reshuffle.

World Brief will be taking a short break for the holiday season. The newsletter will return to your inbox on Dec. 30.

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Russian forces have launched a massive, multifaceted attack on Ukraine over the past 24 hours. On Friday, Moscow fired five ballistic missiles at Kyiv, all of which the Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted. Fragments of the downed missiles, however, caused some casualties and significant damage to five districts in the capital. “There are dead and wounded,” Ukrainian officials said on Friday, reporting at least one person killed and another 12 people injured.

More than 600 buildings also lost heating due to the strike, at a time when Kyiv is recording temperatures close to freezing. Among those hit included the embassies of Albania, Argentina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Palestine, and Portugal, which were all located in the same building.

“Portugal demands strict respect for international law,” Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro posted on X in condemnation of the Kremlin’s attack. No foreign diplomats were injured during the strike.

The use of ballistic missiles is a rare occurrence for Moscow, as the weaponry costs millions of dollars to produce. According to the Russian Defense........

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