Hujan abu vulkanik iringi erupsi Gunung Marapi Minggu pagi

Erupsi Gunung Marapi yang berada di Kabupaten Tanah Datar dan Kabupaten Agam, Provinsi Sumatera Barat (Sumbar), pada Ahad pagi pukul 06.21 WIB diiringi dengan hujan abu vulkanik yang terjadi di sekitar lereng gunung, salah satunya di Nagari (desa) Bukik Batabuah

"Ya, tadi dentumannya (letusan Marapi) cukup keras, dan setelah itu terjadi hujan abu vulkanik" kata relawan Palang Merah Indonesia (PMI) Kabupaten Agam Tayap di posko lapangan erupsi Gunung Marapi Nagari Bukik Batabuah, Kecamatan Canduang, Kabupaten Agam, Ahad.

Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi atau PVMBG mencatat pada Minggu, 14 Januari 2024, terjadi sebanyak 2 kali letusan di Gunung Marapi Sumatera Barat. Letusan yang teramati memiliki intensitas kolom 350-1500 meter.

Berdasarkan laporan Pos Pengamatan Gunung Api Marapi, tinggi kolom abu teramati sekitar 1.300 meter di atas puncak atau kurang lebih 4.191 meter di atas permukaan laut. Erupsi gunung api tersebut juga diiringi lontaran material pijar berwarna kemerahan yang menyembur di sekitar puncak Gunung Marapi.

Sesaat setelah letusan terjadi, para relawan dan tim gabungan dari berbagai instansi tampak bersiaga mengantisipasi kemungkinan terburuk.

Masih dalam laporan Pos Pengamatan Gunung Api Marapi, kolom abu teramati berwarna kelabu dengan intensitas tebal condong ke arah barat laut. Erupsi ini terekam di seismogram dengan amplitudo maksimum 29 milimeter dan durasi sementara sekitar 45 detik.

Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana (PVMBG) telah mengeluarkan rekomendasi terkait peningkatan status Gunung Marapi dari level dua menjadi level tiga.

Rekomendasi itu, yakni masyarakat yang bermukim di sekitar Gunung Marapi, pendaki, pengunjung atau wisatawan agar tidak memasuki atau berkegiatan di wilayah radius 4,5 kilometer dari pusat erupsi (Kawah Verbeek).

Kedua, masyarakat yang bermukim di sekitar lembah, aliran dan bantaran sungai-sungai yang berhulu di puncak Gunung Marapi agar selalu mewaspadai potensi atau ancaman bahaya lahar yang dapat terjadi terutama saat musim hujan.

Jika terjadi hujan abu, masyarakat diimbau untuk menggunakan masker penutup hidung dan mulut untuk menghindari gangguan saluran pernapasan, serta perlengkapan lain untuk melindungi mata dan kulit. Selain itu, warga diimbau mengamankan sarana air bersih serta membersihkan atap rumah dari abu vulkanik yang tebal agar tidak roboh.

Semua pihak diimbau tetap menjaga suasana kondusif di tengah masyarakat, tidak menyebarkan narasi bohong (hoaks), dan tidak terpancing isu-isu yang sumbernya tidak jelas.

Rekomendasi selanjutnya yakni Pemerintah Kota Bukittinggi, Kota Padang Panjang, Kabupaten Tanah Datar, dan Kabupaten Agam agar senantiasa berkoordinasi dengan PVMBG di Bandung, atau Pos Pengamatan Gunung Marapi di Kota Bukittinggi.

KA Pandalungan anjlok di emplasemen Stasiun Tanggulangin Sidoarjo

PT KAI Daerah Operasi (Daop) 8 Surabaya membenarkan dan menyampaikan permohonan maaf atas peristiwa Kecelakaan Kereta Api berupa anjloknya KA Pandalungan relasi Gambir - Surabaya - Jember di Emplasemen Stasiun Tanggulangin pada Ahad, pukul 07.57 WIB.

"Jalur KA untuk sementara tidak dapat dilalui akibat kecelakaan tersebut. KAI saat ini sedang berusaha mengevakuasi rangkaian KA Pandalungan tersebut,” kata Manajer Humas PT KAI Daop 8 Surabaya Luqman Arif dalam keterangannya di Surabaya, Ahad.

Upaya selanjutnya, pihaknya akan melakukan upaya evakuasi rangkaian kereta api dan perbaikan jalur rel yang mengalami kerusakan.

"Informasi lebih lanjut terkait kejadian ini akan kami sampaikan pada kesempatan selanjutnya," ucapnya.

Sebelumnya beredar video di sosial media terkait anjloknya KA Pandalungan relasi Gambir - Surabaya - Jember di akun Instagram Jaki Jetbus.

Dalam video tersebut, sejumlah petugas melakukan pemeriksaan di belakang gerbong lokomotif KA Pandalungan.

Tampak sejumlah warga yang ingin melihat lebih dekat diarahkan untuk menjauh karena petugas masih melakukan proses evakuasi.

Selain dari akun tersebut, akun Instagram lainnya dengan nama Aliqsafrudin merekam detik-detik anjloknya kereta yang mempunyai nomor gerbong lokomotif CC2039804 tersebut.

"Aduh, Masya Allah nyapo kae iku (ada apa itu), Astaghfirullah," ucapnya.

Evakuasi lokomotif KA Pandalungan, derek didatangkan dari Solo

PT. Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) menyatakan proses evakuasi lokomotif Kereta Api (KA) Pandalungan yang anjlok dari relnya di Tanggulangin, Sidoarjo masih berlangsung hingga hari Minggu sore, 14/01/2024.

Luqman Arif Manajer Humas KAI Daop 8 mengatakan bahwa proses evakuasi tersebut menggunakan alat berat yang didatangkan langsung dari Surakarta atau Solo.

“Memang lokomotif ini lebih berat daripada (gerbong) kereta. Jadi butuh effort yang lebih dan alat atau tools yang lebih kompeten untuk mempercepat proses evakuasi tersebut,” kata Luqman saat on air di Radio Suara Surabaya, Minggu sore.

Selain mendatangkan alat berat dari Surakarta, proses evakuasi lokomotif KA Pandalungan juga mendatangkan tim bantuan dari Depo Sidotopo untuk mengangkat gerbong yang anjlok.

“Proses ini sudah clear. Tinggal mengangkat lokomotifnya, dan itu perlu alat yang lebih kuat yang kami datangkan dari Solo. Mereka berangkat pada pukul 10.00 tadi dan tiba sore ini,” urai Luqman.

Luqman belum bisa memastikan berapa lama proses evakuasi lokomotif KA Pandalungan. Namun ia memastikan bahwa tim evakuasi akan bekerja maksimal sehingga proses evakuasi bisa lekas selesai.

“Harapan kami secepatnya selesai. Karena kami juga ingin jalur yang terhambat ini bisa dilepati kembali,” tegasnya.

Luqman menambahkan, KA Pandalungan yang melayani relasi Gambir–Jember, membawa delapan gerbong. Gerbong yang tidak terdampak telah dipindahkan ke Stasiun Sidoarjo.

Palestinian death toll nears 24,000 as Gaza marks 100 days of war

Men carry the body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah earlier this month.
Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

The numbers that capture the state of Gaza after 100 days of war are staggering: Nearly 2 million displaced, thousands of homes destroyed and nearly 24,000 dead — 10,000 of them children.

Since the outbreak of war on Oct. 7, when the militant group Hamas broke into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped some 250 more, the toll of Israel's response on Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, has been catastrophic for the territory.

"What we have seen since 7 October is a stain on our collective conscience. Unless we act, it will become an indelible mark on our humanity. People will continue to suffer and die from the rockets, the bombs, the missiles and the bullets; and in increasing numbers from starvation, disease and exposure," the United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said Friday.

23,938 dead and 60,582 injured

The death toll, updated regularly by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. But about 70% of the dead are women and children, the ministry says. About 10,000 of the dead are children under the age of 18. Nearly 8,000 more are reported to be missing, presumed dead under rubble.

In other words, more than 1% of Gaza's pre-war population of 2.3 million have been killed in just over three months of conflict.

The health ministry also tracks injuries. Hospitals have reported catastrophic injuries caused by airstrikes, including severe, full-body burns and crushed limbs. About 1,000 children have lost one or both legs, the aid group Save The Children said this week.

"An entire generation of children is traumatized and will take years to heal. Thousands have been killed, maimed, and orphaned. Hundreds of thousands are deprived of education. Their future is in jeopardy, with far-reaching and long-lasting consequences," said Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, the U.N. agency in Gaza, in a statement Saturday.

1.9 million people displaced

About 85% of Gaza's population have been forced out of their homes to flee conflict in the largest displacement of Palestinian people since the wars that surrounded the founding of Israel in 1948, UNRWA says.

Many families have now been displaced more than once. Israel's ground operations initially focused in the northern part of the territory, and ahead of its ground invasion in October, Israel had urged Palestinians in Gaza City to evacuate to the south. But its airstrikes have repeatedly pummeled the south, too.

Over the past month, Israel's ground operations have refocused on cities in central and southern Gaza, including Khan Younis, forcing Palestinians to flee once again. Now, an estimated 1.3 million people have crowded into Rafah, the city closest to Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike at a residential building in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.
AP Photo/Adel Hana

"We don't know where to go or what to do. We're going from spot to spot," said a man who called himself Abu Ibrahim Sharran, as he rode a bicycle loaded with a sleeping mat and clothes on the streets of Khan Younis earlier this month.

His family had already evacuated twice, he said, and he was looking for yet another place to stay. "May God provide relief for everyone, so that people will be able to return to their homes, instead of sitting scattered on the streets."

As many as 160,800 buildings damaged or destroyed

The scale of destruction is beyond a scale ever seen in Gaza, especially in Gaza City, which has drawn comparisons to the worst bombardments of world conflicts in recent history, including Mariupol in Ukraine and Aleppo in Syria.

Perhaps the best estimate of the scale of destruction comes from satellite imagery. According to an analysis of satellite imagery by researchers at Oregon State University and the City University of New York, as many as 55.9% of all buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed by Israel's bombardment, or up to 160,800 buildings.

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip peer through the border fence with Egypt in Rafah.
Photograph: Fatima Shbair/AP

In northern Gaza, where most of the territory's residents lived before the war, the numbers are even higher: Researchers estimate that up to 80% or more of buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

21 out of 36 hospitals out of operation

The World Health Organization reports that less than half of the hospitals in Gaza are operating at any capacity. And at those that are operational, bed capacity is estimated to be at 351%, the WHO reports — in other words, hospitals in Gaza are treating more than three times the number of patients for which they are equipped.

Hospitals and medical staff in Gaza have reported shortages of practically everything needed to treat the massive number of wounded and sick. Medical supplies of all kinds are in short supply, including antibiotics, first aid supplies, IV fluids and blood. Electricity has been a major challenge for hospitals since Gaza's main power plant went offline early in the war; hospitals have been desperate for fuel to operate generators needed to power ventilators, incubators and other health equipment reliant on electricity.

"There are no beds available, so people are literally just on the ground, seeking treatment. There's not really room or space for us to breathe or think," said Dr. Seema Jilani, an American doctor who spoke to NPR after two weeks working at Gaza's al-Aqsa Hospital as part of a team from the International Rescue Committee.

More than 600 healthcare workers have died in attacks and nearly 800 more have been injured, according to the WHO. Dozens of ambulances have been damaged.

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Russia delivers massive attack on Ukrainian defense facilities, using Kinzhal missiles

©Defense Ministry's Press Service/TASS

On Saturday morning, Russian forces delivered a massive attack on Ukrainian defense facilities, using long-range high-precision weapons, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"This morning, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a massive attack targeting Ukrainian 155mm, 152mm and 125mm artillery shell, gunpowder and drone production facilities, using long-range precision strike weapons fired from naval guns or from the air, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system," the ministry said in a report, adding that all targets were successfully hit.

Watch Russian Flamethrowers Reduce Ukrainian Fortifications to Dust

Heavy flamethrowers are one of the deadliest conventional weapons in the Russian arsenal, capable of unleashing a firestorm on the enemy.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has released a footage of the combat work of the OS-1A "Solntsepyok" heave flamethrower hammering Ukrainian positions in the special military operation zone.

"Solntsepyok" (Scorching Sunlight) is a thermobaric multiple rocket launcher that fires projectiles with a fuel-air explosive mixture. When detonated, it generates extreme heat of up to 3,000 degrees Celsius - hotter than the outer layers of some stars - enough to incinerate almost anything and melt the most advanced steel armor.

Watch New Russian Anti-Drone System Safeguard Tank in Ukrainian Conflict

Russian military units have become incredibly skilled at both using combat and surveillance drones and countering UAVs and FPV drones.

A short video recently released online by the Russian Ministry of Defense has offered a glimpse of a new electronic countermeasure employed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian conflict.

In the video featuring a Russian T-80BVM main battle tank dismantling a Ukrainian strongpoint, the “Saniya” anti-drone system can be seen mounted on the tank’s turret.

As one of the tank’s crew members explained, Saniya interferes with and suppresses the communications of enemy drones that attempt to enter its area of effect, creating a sort of protective dome around the vehicle it is installed on.

Watch Russian Grad MLRS Wreak Havoc on Ukrainian Positions

The Grad is a supreme Russian weapon that can easily cover an area the size of several football fields and reduce everything there to scrap and smoking ash.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing the Grad multiple launch rocket system in combat.

The video shows Grad crews destroying Ukrainian positions on the right bank of the Dnepr River. The Grad MLRS is designed to destroy enemy personnel and equipment with a shockwave and shrapnel from its missiles that spreads for hundreds of meters. Grad crews typically work with UAV operators who help them locate a target.

Ukraine Loses Over 300 Troops, Nine Tanks and Four IFVs, Including A Bradley, in Donetsk

Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported on the progress of the special military operation, aimed at the protection of the people of Donbass.

Russia's Armed Forces have repelled three attacks by Ukrainian troops near Veseloye, Novgorodskoye, and Nevelskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The Russian army used aviation, artillery and heavy flamethrowers to achieve this.

As a result, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) lost hundreds of soldiers and scores of fighting vehicles.

“UAF losses amounted to more than 300 Ukrainian troops, nine tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, including one Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, four armored fighting vehicles, one Strela-10 air defense system, and 27 motor vehicles," the ministry said in a statement.

Around Kypuansk, Ukrainian losses amounted to 130 troops, four tanks, eight motor vehicles and one US-made M777 artillery system. In Krasny Liman area, Ukraine lost 80 soldiers, while in South Donetsk, losses amounted to 170 troops, two tanks and six motor vehicles.

In Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, Ukraine lost 120 soldiers in total.

Relawan AMIN dan Ganjar-Mahfud Kompak Beralih ke Prabowo-Gibran

Kelompok relawan AMIN dan Ganjar-Mahfud kompak menyatakan beralih dukungan pada Prabowo-Gibran dalam Pilpres 2024. (CNNIndonesia/Taufiq Hidayatullah)

Kelompok relawan Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar dan Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD kompak menyatakan beralih dukungan kepada Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming dalam Pilpres 2024.

Alih dukungan tersebut dilakukan oleh kelompok Relawan Turun Tangan Anies-Muhaimin dan Sahabat Ganjar Pranowo (SGP) pada hari Jumat, 12/01/2024.

Ketua Umum Relawan Turun Tangan Khoirul Mujahid menjelaskan, organisasi tersebut awalnya diinisiai oleh Anies ketika ia masih menjabat sebagai Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.

Khoirul mengatakan, pihaknya memutuskan berpindah haluan dengan mendukung Prabowo-Gibran dan mengubah nama menjadi Jenderal Muda 08 usai menyaksikan debat ketiga Pilpres 2024 yang digelar pada hari Minggu kemarin, 07/01/2024.

Dalam debat itu, ia menilai Prabowo justru diserang secara personal oleh kedua capres lainnya. Padahal, kata dia, hal tersebut tidak ada kaitannya dengan materi debat Pilpres ketiga.

"Pada merendahkan Prabowo, meng-underestimate posisinya Bapak Prabowo untuk menonjolkan pribadinya jauh lebih baik ketimbang Pak Prabowo," ujarnya dalam konferensi pers di Media Center TKN Prabowo-Gibran.

"Itu mungkin bagi kami adalah sikap yang kurang etis. Apalagi dilakukan oleh sosok yang kita kenal mungkin intelektual. Ada cara lain, cara yang jauh lebih bijak untuk bagaimana mempromosikan dirinya menjadi presiden," imbuhnya.

Sementara itu, Ketua Umum SGP Ahmad Muhdlor Ihsan menjelaskan, alasan pihaknya beralih dukungan kepada Prabowo-Gibran lantaran merasa sudah tidak dihargai lagi oleh Ganjar-Mahfud.

Ahmad mengaku kecewa lantaran sudah berupaya penuh mendukung Ganjar selama dua tahun, tapi tidak pernah dianggap. Ia bahkan mengklaim telah menghabiskan dana sebesar Rp2,2 miliar hanya untuk mengampanyekan Ganjar-Mahfud.

"Mohon maaf, kita sudah habis Rp2,2 miliar selama dua tahun. Kenapa SGP menarik dukungan? Karena kami, ketua umum SGP dan seluruh jajaran pengurus se-Indonesia, merasa sudah diinjak-injak harga diri kita," tuturnya.

Oleh sebab itu, Ahmad menegaskan, kelompok Relawan SGP telah resmi dibubarkan pada Selasa 26 Desember 2023 dan berubah menjadi kelompok Barisan Santri Indonesia (BSI).

"BSI, Barisan Santri Indonesia bertekad bulat untuk memenangkan pasangan [nomor urut] 2 Bapak Prabowo Subianto dan Gibran Rakabuming Raka satu putaran," ujarnya.

Dalam kesempatan yang sama, Wakil Komandan TKN Golf (Relawan) Prabowo-Gibran Ahmad Gojali Harahap mengaku gembira dengan banyaknya organisasi relawan yang akhirnya melabuhkan dukungan kepada paslon nomor urut 2.

"Akhir-akhir ini terutama setelah debat pilpres yang ketiga itu migrasi kepada Pak Prabowo atau dukungan kepada Pak Prabowo itu semakin hari semakin banyak dan mengalir terus," jelasnya.

Gojali mengaku optimistis dengan semakin banyaknya organisasi relawan yang bergabung, maka diharapkan bakal semakin membantu pemenangan pasangan Prabowo-Gibran dalam satu putaran.

"Mudah-mudahan kehadiran teman-teman ini bisa menambah kekuatan kita menang sekali putaran," pungkasnya.

Trump Jr. condemns Zelensky for US journalist’s ‘murder’

Donald Trump, Jr. speaks at the Machine Shed in Urbandale, Iowa, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024.
©AP/Andrew Harnik

The death of journalist and filmmaker Gonzalo Lira is a “murder,” and the blame for it lies with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the son of former US President Donald Trump stated on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

Gonzalo Lira, a national of the US and Chile, has died while in jail in Ukraine. Lira passed away on January 11, with his family reporting his death the following day. The US Department of State then confirmed it.

“So we are now allowing our foreign welfare recipients, such as Zelinski [Zelensky], to kill our citizens and our journalists?” Donald Trump Jr. wrote.

Trump Jr. also denounced the likely lack of reaction to this tragedy in the US media. “I would have waited for the outrage of our media, but I know that it will not happen,” he lamented.

So we are now allowing our foreign welfare recipients like Zelinski to murder our citizens and our journalists???

I’d wait for the outrage from our media but I know it’s not coming! https://t.co/L5VbRfHm9R

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 12, 2024

Lira had been in pre-trial detention in Ukraine’s Kharkov since May 2023 on accusations of justifying Moscow’s military operation against Kiev.

According to a handwritten note by Lira addressed to his sister and published by the Grayzone news website, the journalist had severe health problems caused by pneumonia and a collapsed lung, which began in mid-October.

Ukrainian prison authorities only acknowledged the issue on December 22 and stated he would undergo surgery, Lira wrote.

BREAKING: It is with great sadness I must announce that Gonzalo Lira @GonzaloLira1968, passed away in a hospital according to his father, who has been fighting to get his son much-needed medical attention for the past weeks.

Here is a hand-written note from Gonzalo which I… pic.twitter.com/jY8Mh0xQV3

— Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) January 12, 2024

Following the journalist’s death, his father, Gonzalo Lira Sr., said that his son had been “tortured” while the US Embassy in Kiev “did nothing” to help him.

“The responsibility of this tragedy is the dictator Zelensky with the concurrence of a senile American President, Joe Biden,” Gonzalo’s father wrote in a note published by the Grayzone.

After Russia and Ukraine’s long-simmering disputes turned to military confrontation in February 2022, Lira, who moved to Ukraine and married a local woman in 2010, began actively covering the fighting on social media. He insisted that the conflict had been provoked by the Zelensky government and its Western backers, saying that Ukraine had no chance of winning against Russia and predicted failure.

He also criticized efforts by the Western media to portray Ukraine as a “democracy,” speaking about rampant corruption in the government and publishing a list of Zelensky’s opponents who, he claimed, had been “disappeared” by local authorities.

Kiev insists it has rightfully targeted Lira over his activities, with the Security Service of Ukraine repeatedly stating the journalist has been accused of “producing and distributing materials justifying the armed aggression,” as well as disseminating “fakes” about the country’s armed forces. The first hearing in his trial had been scheduled for December 12.

Who was the ‘tortured’ US journalist who died in Ukrainian captivity?

Journalist and filmmaker Gonzalo Lira, a national of the US and Chile, has died while in a jail in Ukraine. Lira's family reported the death on January 12, which was then confirmed by the US Department of State.

Lira had been in pre-trial detention since May 2023, on accusations of justifying Moscow’s military operation against Kiev. According to a handwritten note Lira’s sister received on January 4, provided to the Grayzone by her father, Lira had severe health problems caused by pneumonia and a collapsed lung, which began in mid-October. Ukrainian prison authorities only acknowledged the issue on December 22, and stated he would undergo surgery.

©Gonzalo Lira/YouTube

The journalist’s father, Gonzalo Lira Sr., said that his son had been “tortured,” while the US Embassy in Kiev “did nothing” to help him.

Who was Gonzalo Lira?

Lira was a journalist, blogger, writer, and filmmaker with experience working in Hollywood. He authored several novels in English and Spanish, including the 2002 spy thriller ‘Acrobat.’ The 55-year-old was also known online as ‘Coach Red Pill,’ offering lifestyle advice to a male audience.

He reportedly moved to Ukraine in 2010 and married a local woman. The blogger lived in Kharkov, Ukraine’s second-largest city, located in the east, not far from its border with Russia.

After Russia and Ukraine’s long-simmering disputes turned to military confrontation in February 2022, Lira began actively covering the fighting on social media. He said that he loved Ukraine and its people and that the whole thing was a tragedy, but insisted that the conflict had been provoked by the Zelensky government and its Western backers. The blogger said that Ukraine had no chance of winning against Russia and predicted failure.

He also criticized efforts by the Western media to portray Ukraine as a “democracy,” speaking about rampant corruption in the government and publishing a list of Zelensky’s opponents who, he claimed, had been “disappeared” by the Kiev authorities.

Lira’s three arrests

Lira’s disappearance in April 2022 made international headlines, with some accounts on social media claiming that he could’ve been abducted and murdered by the members of the notorious neo-Nazi unit ‘Kraken’ over his criticism of the Ukrainian authorities.

However, he reemerged on social media a week later, saying that he had been detained by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). According to the journalist, he was released without charge but that access to his accounts was blocked and he was told not to leave Kharkov.

The journalist was arrested once again in May 2023, ultimately being released from a pre-trial detention center house arrest after posting bail. On this occasion he claimed he had been subjected to extortion and physical abuse in custody.

He was arrested again in July, with Ukrainian law enforcement stating he had attempted to leave the country for Hungary on a motorbike.

Washington’s reaction to the arrest

The US has remained largely silent on the Lira affair, with the journalist claiming he had been receiving care while in jail only from the Chilean mission, with the US Embassy calling him “three times, but gave me nothing but ‘support’ – empty bromides.” Lira also alleged he might end up extradited back to Ukraine should he ever be able to leave the country, specifically because US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland “hates my guts, or so I’m told.”

Asked about Lira’s fate back in August, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller refused to provide any meaningful answer on the matter, citing “privacy” reasons.

“The safety and security of every American overseas is our first priority. Because of privacy rules we’re unable in a lot of cases to talk about specific cases, but obviously the safety and security of Americans is our top priority,” Miller told reporters at the time.

What his father says

The father of jailed journalist Gonzalo Lira Sr. has squarely blamed the situation on the US administration and its ties to Kiev. The alleged persecution of his son stems from the fact that the latter had bravely reported on about a dozen Zelensky “opponents” who had “disappeared,” he claims.

“This that is happening to my son, he’s a victim of this Biden government and his relation with that puppet Zelensky,” Lira Sr. said in an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson.

The link between the US administration and the blogger’s hardships might be even deeper, his father suggested, given that his second arrest in Ukraine came mere days “after condemning Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”

“Why was he not detained earlier? When he was let go the previous year, he continued the same criticism against the war,” Lira Sr. added.

The interview drew concerns from none other than Elon Musk, the SpaceX, Tesla and X CEO. Musk demanded answers on the status of Lira from US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, and wondered how it was possible that an American citizen is in prison in Ukraine after the US “sent over a $100 billion” to support Kiev in the conflict with Moscow. It would be a “serious problem” if it turned out that the journalist was being persecuted for “simply criticizing Zelensky,” Musk added in December.

What is Ukraine saying

Kiev insists it has rightfully targeted Lira over his activities, with the SBU repeatedly stating the journalist has been accused of “producing and distributing materials justifying the armed aggression,” as well as disseminating “fakes” about the country’s armed forces. The first hearing in his trial had been scheduled for December 12.