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As Kyiv’s allies take drastic measures against Moscow as the conflict nears its four-year mark, according to local officials, who claim that at least four people have been killed and several others have been injured by Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine.

The head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Saturday that two people had been killed and nine had been hurt in a ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

According to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service, debris from intercepted missiles fell into an open area at another site, causing windows to burn in a non-residential building in one location, causing damage to other buildings.

“Explosions in the capital,” . Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated in a social media post that the city is in “ballistic attack.”

In a Russian attack, acting governor Vladyslav Haivanenko reported that in the region’s central-est Dnipropetrovsk region, seven people were killed and seven injured. In addition to the strikes, he added apartment buildings, private homes, an outbuilding, a shop, and at least one vehicle.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one of the victims was a worker in need. The ministry’s social media post stated that “one rescuer was killed and one injured as a result of a repeated missile strike on the Petropavlivska community in the Dnipropetrovsk region.”

Russia fired 62 attack drones and nine Iskander-M ballistic missiles, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. It added that 50 drones and four ballistic missiles were defeated.

Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, made no immediate comment.

Russia, for its part, blaming Ukraine for destroying a nearby reservoir with a dam on Saturday. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, stated in a statement on Telegram that the dam’s repeated strikes had increased the risk of flooding and that residents of Shebekino and Bezlyudovka were advised to leave their homes for temporary lodging.

The Belgorod region, which borders the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine, has previously been attacked by Ukrainian forces.

Russian Defense’s Ministry of Defense reported that overnight, 121 Ukrainian drones had been shot down by its air defenses.

pressing Putin to put an end to the conflict

As the conflict enters its fourth winter, Kyiv’s Western allies are putting more pressure on Russia as a result of the attacks.

This week, Russia’s war economy will be crippled by new, extensive sanctions put forth by the US and the European Union.

In an effort to entice Moscow to reach a ceasefire, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil on Wednesday. Liquid natural gas imports are now prohibited by the EU, which passed a new round of sanctions on Russian energy exports on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the sanctions and demanded more pressure on all Russian oil companies as well as military assistance to strengthen Ukraine’s long-range missile capabilities at a joint press conference held in London on Friday following a meeting of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing.”

Zelenskyy claimed on Saturday that the overnight attacks made his nation’s need for air defense systems more acute. “We pay particular attention to Patriot systems because of these attacks to be able to shield our cities from this horror,” he said. He wrote on social media that it is crucial that partners who have the necessary capacity follow through on what we have discussed recently.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, declared he would not veer from Western pressure. He referred to the US sanctions as an “unfriendly act” and said that “no self-respecting country or people ever decides anything under pressure.”

Putin has demanded that Russia keep any territory it had taken during the war and that Ukraine be completely de-armed. That position seems to Ukraine unconvergent. Trump hasn’t been able to move between the two positions because he had boasted of being able to end the war in 24 hours prior to his re-election in January.

Following the US president’s suggestion to “freeze” the war with a ceasefire along the current front lines, plans for an in-person meeting between Trump and Putin fell apart this week.

The research by 101 East examines how Easter Island is developing a sustainable lifestyle that might inspire others.

For more than 15 years, Juan Alvarado has owned a small shoe manufacturing company in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico’s capital, for the past 15 years. However, he is being forced to consider diversifying into other sectors or simply shutting down his business because of the current political and trade tensions in US-Mexico relations, as well as tariff-related disruptions.

Alvarado stated to Al Jazeera that he would typically employ up to 25 people, but he has since been forced to reduce that number to 15. You can’t hold on either way because you’re up against a wall. And everything depends on the amount of money.

After President Claudia Sheinbaum and Donald Trump agreed to a 90-day extension, which is scheduled to expire on October 31st, negotiations are raging about Mexico’s tariff rate. Mexico is still subject to a 25% tariff on cars, a 50% tariff on steel, aluminum, and copper, and a 25% tariff on anything that is not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) 2020 Free Trade Agreement.

The US’s tariffs on other countries are seen as a benefit for Mexico’s top trading partner as it struggles to gain a stronger foothold in areas like footwear, which has traditionally faced declining competition from Asian nations for decades.

The State of Guanajuato (CICEG)’s Chamber of the Footwear Industry recognizes the volatility that US tariffs can cause, but Juan Carlos Cashat Usabiaga, president of the organization, claims that Mexico is currently being favored because some of its exports are covered by USMCA.

He told Al Jazeera, “I truly believe that these tariffs being imposed on other nations are advantageous.” You can still export to the United States while adhering to the USMCA regulations, if you speak exclusively of footwear. That is, you will receive zero percent tariffs if you follow the rules. In contrast to other countries that are subject to tariffs of 20, 30, 40, or 50%, our nation is really very competitive.

Trump’s tariffs, which aim to boost the country’s economy, have had a negative impact. Small business owners like Alvarado claim that their investments are being hampered by the current geopolitical environment and inflation, while others in Mexico view these disruptions as a window of opportunity.

For a US-based export company, Alvarado’s business used to produce shoes. Despite USMCA, demand has decreased as a result of uncertainty surrounding tariffs, which has forced Alvarado to halt all orders.

Production has been stopped for the moment. According to him, they were producing about 2, 000 pairs of shoes per week, of which Alvarado was supplying about 2, 000 pairs. That really helped my company, she said. ]But] now they are making 800, 700 pairs”.

Alvarado has recently expanded a new sales channel by mailing shoes directly to US customers in addition to manufacturing for larger companies. Following the US government’s decision to end the “de minimis” exemption, which allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the US tariff-free, Mexico also suspended package shipments.

Imports from China

More than 75% of Mexico’s production is concentrated in Guanajuato, making it the ninth-largest producer of footwear worldwide. According to Cashat, Chinese dumping practices and importations have had a significant impact on the sector.

According to Cashat, “We’ve seen a shocking decline in production and jobs, which has an impact on the GDP of the sector.”

214 million pairs of shoes were produced in Mexico last year. Production reached 134 million pairs by the end of August this year, according to CICEG’s data, which came from Mexico’s national statistics agency. By the end of August, the number of workers in the sector had dropped by 411 from a year earlier, to 96, 929.

The IMMEX program, which was introduced in 2006 to facilitate the temporary import of materials intended for re-exportation after processing, has recently been withdrawn by the Mexican government. The improper use of the program to import finished goods, especially shoes and textiles from China, has for decades caused unfair competition and tax evasion in Mexican businesses, as well as decimating the local economy.

According to Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s economic secretary, shoe production decreased by 12.8 percent between 2019 and 2024, largely as a result of companies’ poor IMMEX program use. The temporary pause on imported finished shoes is intended to boost national production, combat contraband, and safeguard the livelihoods of 130, 000 direct and many more indirect employees, according to Ebrard.

Mexico also revealed its intention to impose its own tariffs on certain imports from nations without free trade agreements, including China. These actions are a part of Plan Mexico, a national strategy intended to boost economic growth and advance Mexico’s position in global value chains.

These tariffs and the IMMEX pause are significant incentives for the industry to compete on an equal playing field, according to Luis Rodriguez Tirado, CEO of Hormas El Arbol, a company that has been producing shoes for 90 years.

“We can compete with any other nation,” the statement read. I’m okay with them beating us, but only on equal terms, he said.

Some analysts see these measures as merely a response to the intense pressure the Mexican government is facing from Washington, DC, as opposed to as a genuine effort to stop illegal imports.

To support their businesses and make a living, workers in Mexico’s vast informal sector rely heavily on cheap Chinese goods.

According to Professor Renato Balderrama of the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), it is difficult for any government to “clean up customs,” despite good intentions, because goods like shoes and textiles frequently enter illegally.

“Mexico’s economy is largely unorganized, accounting for half of its.” Therefore, he continued, “people either starve or sell drugs if you block that income.”

Balderrama added that Mexico needs to diversify its exports, particularly in Asia.

The Pacific Rim and South Asia are the two markets where growth has been and will continue to grow. And this is when we are breaking up with China and growing more dependent on the US.

manufactured in Mexico

The shoe manufacturer Alvarado describes Chinese imports as a “cancer” that has been affecting the sector. He adds that due to the involved governmental bureaucracy and a lack of financial support, small business owners are having more trouble navigating these challenging times.

Plan Mexico appears promising on paper, but experts and industry insiders concur that its success depends largely on its financial support and integral implementation.

According to Balderrama, “the strategy has yet to be fully realized” and needs to be given the resources needed for the enormous task that lies ahead.

However, according to Cashat, it is preferable to implement an integral plan to recover what has been lost in recent years rather than to start from scratch. It has a lot to offer, according to the industry. Companies are currently operating at about 55% of their production capacity, he continued.

Rodriguez agrees that the footwear industry needs to be restructured despite recent government initiatives. Priorities should be given to small and medium-sized businesses, including promoting and strengthening them, as well as addressing the informal sector.

In order for those under investigation to become formal and have better funding and planning, he said, “it would be necessary to include those informal businesses that are being evaluated.”

Alvarado’s business was robbed a year and a half ago. Organized crime and gang activity are present in Guanajuato, which poses significant security challenges. These issues cause theft, extortion, and reduced sales for both small and medium-sized businesses. He requested government funding for microbusinesses, but after learning that the application process would take more than a year, he was forced to take out a bank loan to pay it back and keep operating.