Around 130 dead seals have been washed up on the shores of Russia's Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake, authorities said Tuesday.
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The Baikal seal is the tiniest species in the world and no one know why they could colonise the ancient Siberian lake but they are exclusively in Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, Russia, near the Mongolian border.
Lake Baikal has thousands of endemic creatures has been suffering from a series of harming phenomena in recent years.
Photo via Russia Friends, Facebook
Environmental ministry spokesman Nikolai Gudkov said there had been about 130 animals found dead. He said they had taken water samples to understand whether the incident is caused by water pollution.
Photo via Russia Friends, Facebook
He said the preliminary theories suggest that the death is not related to the pollution.
He also added that scientists had taken the animal's biopsies but the seals are not endangered species while their population has actually increased to around 130,000.
According to the IUCN, future climate change can potentially make an effect on seals' breeding. While the lake is isolated from lands, sea animals living there are easy to be affected by the climate change since they can't move to other habitats.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian glide bombs and artillery struck a city in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding five others as Moscow forces continued daily attacks across the country.
The city of Kherson was struck with glide bombs on Wednesday morning, and when rescue teams arrived at the scene, Russian forces launched an artillery barrage, said the region's head, Oleksandr Prokudin. “This is a deliberate tactic by Russia to hinder the rescue of the injured and harm doctors, rescuers, and police,” he said.
The attack damaged a sports facility, a supermarket, residential buildings and civilian vehicles, Prokudin added.
The strike on Kherson followed other deadly attacks in recent days. On Palm Sunday, two Russian ballistic missile hit the northeastern city of Sumy near the Russian border, killing 35 people and injuring more than 100 others in the deadliest attack on Ukrainian civilians this year. The Russian military said that the strike targeted a gathering of senior military officers, but did not offer evidence.
The attack on Sumy and other areas came even as Moscow and Kyiv both agreed last month to implement a 30-day halt on strikes on energy facilities. Both parties have differed on the start time for stopping strikes and alleged daily breaches by the other side.
Asked Wednesday if Russia is going to stop abiding by the limited ceasefire after 30 days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov demurred, saying the decision will be made later.
Moscow has effectively refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that President Donald Trump has sought and Ukraine has endorsed. Russia has made it conditional on a halt in Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and Western arms supplies, the demands rejected by Ukraine. Kyiv believes Moscow’s forces are gearing up for a fresh offensive.
Russian forces hold the battlefield advantage in Ukraine, pressing attacks in several sectors of the 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) frontline, and Kyiv has warned Moscow is planning a new offensive to improve its negotiating position.
The Russian military said it downed 26 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions early Wednesday.
Commenting on ongoing negotiations with the U.S. over a prospective agreement that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources, Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko noted that the US and Ukrainian teams have achieved “significant progress.”
She said that both sides are working on a “memorandum of intent” that would reflect positive developments in the talks and added that “we are preparing to complete the formalization of the agreement in the near future.”
The deal, which needs to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament, "will provide opportunities for investment and development in Ukraine, and will also provide conditions for tangible economic growth for both Ukraine and the United States,” Svyrydenko said.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following Russia's drones attack in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Hennadii Smolarov, 73, injured in a deadly Palm Sunday Russian attack on Sumy on April 13, lies on a bed at a hospital in Sumy, Ukraine,Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Women put flowers on a site of a Russian missile strike in Sumy, Ukraine, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Asia Pohorila, 20, injured in a deadly Palm Sunday Russian attack on Sumy on April 13, lies on a bed at a hospital in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Dr. Oleksandr Zaitsev treats a patient injured in a deadly Palm Sunday Russian attack on Sumy on April 13, at a hospital ICU in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following Russia's drones attack in Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
