Chief of Air Staff asks Nigerians to support troops in the fight against insurgency

US intelligence services have said Russia's military has lost 15,000 troops so far in its war on Ukraine. Meanwhile, the mayor of Ukraine's Kharkiv reported Russian shelling in the city. Follow DW for more.

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The French military said the withdrawal of its forces from Mali has been completed after more than eight years of presence in the West African country.

Indian and Chinese soldiers are pulling out of one of three key border areas that have been a focus of bilateral tensions. Some border regions have seen deadly clashes in recent times.

Diplomatic tensions between Mali and Ivory Coast deepen after Bamako sets conditions for the return of dozens of Ivorian soldiers arrested two months ago. Also, Ethiopia's New Year celebrations are overshadowed by an economic crisis. And anti-smoking campaigners in Senegal warn against the damage caused to young bodies when they start lighting up.

Russia's military has acknowledged its withdrawal from the strategically important town of Lyman in Donetsk. The town is in the areas Vladimir Putin unilaterally declared as annexed Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed troops in the newly liberated Ukrainian city of Kherson Monday and said Ukraine is "ready for peace. Peace for all our country."

The region has been in the grip of an offensive by the M23 armed group and 900 Kenyan soldiers were recently sent to the area. Also in this edition: South Africa's disgraced ex-president Jacob Zuma could go back to prison, and we talk to Nigerian climate expert Chukwumerije Okereke, who is the Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development. And lastly, guest Karim Baldé breaks down the Senegal's loss against the Netherlands in the World Cup.

Kenya's President William Ruto says East African troops will enforce peace in eastern DR Congo. The region has been in the grip of an offensive by the M23 armed group and 900 Kenyan soldiers were recently sent to the area.

Disputes with Mali's ruling military junta and the arrival of Russian mercenaries have cast doubt over the future of the German mission to the West African country.

Mali's military junta acted unconcerned by the announced withdrawal of German troops from the country. But civil society is worried about yet another ally abandoning military aid for crisis-beset Mali.

Official accounts say 43 students who went missing in 2014 were abducted by corrupt police and handed over to a gang to be murdered. Now a Mexican government official has alleged that an army commander ordered the deaths of at least six of them.