- Russia-Ukraine Daily News
- Posts
- Daily Briefing
Dear Reader, if you find this email interesting, helpful or of value, please do consider forwarding it to your friends or colleagues and encouraging them to subscribe. Thank you.
Morning Headlines
Reuters: A Russian missile attack injured two people and damaged buildings in Kyiv, local officials said after explosions were heard in Ukraine's capital on Friday.
Bloomberg: The European Union should consider taking bolder steps such as confiscating frozen Russian central bank assets to compensate Ukraine, the bloc’s top economic official said, downplaying risk warnings from the European Central Bank (archive).
ISW: Putin continues to falsely posture the Russian economy as strong and stable while deflecting blame for economic issues onto the Russian Central Bank.
Bloomberg: Some allies say Biden never had a plan to help Ukraine win the war against Russia and the US president was too worried about Putin's nuclear saber-rattling (archive).
Euractiv: Boyko Borissov, the former long-time Bulgarian prime minister and leader of the EPP-affiliated GERB party, no longer supports signing a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine after the caretaker asked parliament to decide on the issue.
More News
Reuters: Russia has carried out a mass cyberattack on Ukraine's state registries, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said late on Thursday, resulting in a temporary suspension of services. The registries contain vital information about Ukrainian citizens such as births, deaths, marriages and property ownership.
The Kyiv Independent: European Union leaders reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine at a Dec. 19 summit in Brussels, emphasizing that decisions about the war-torn country’s future must involve Kyiv and its European allies.
Reuters: A Russian missile struck and badly damaged a two-storey residence in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, injuring five people, including two pulled alive from under the rubble, officials said.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces reported on Dec. 19 that they had killed 12 North Korean soldiers and injured 20 others, preventing their advance in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Reuters: NATO will need to contain Russia for the next 20 years, the head of Estonian foreign intelligence said.
US State Dept: In a wide ranging interview with MSNBC on Dec. 19, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about the prospects for a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, as well as support for the embattled country ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in January.
Reuters: A Russian missile attack killed three people and wounded three more in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Thursday, the national police said.
The Kyiv Independent: Denmark has allocated 2.1 billion Danish kroner (over $292 million) to bolster Ukraine's air defense, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced on Dec. 19.
Reuters: Russia and countries that support it will remain a danger to Europe even after the war in Ukraine has ended, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said on Thursday.
The Kyiv Independent: Putin on Dec. 19 mockingly suggested a "high-tech duel" with the West by launching the Oreshnik missile against Kyiv to prove Western air defenses cannot intercept it.
AFP: Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah expressed concerns Thursday that the North African country could become a "battlefield", following reports of Russian weapon transfers from Syria after Bashar al-Assad's fall.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia is planning to build a ring road around the Azov Sea, passing through the occupied territories of Ukraine, Putin said during his annual press conference and a call-in program on Dec. 19.
Reuters: Soaring borrowing costs are cooling demand in Russia's real estate market, with potential buyers scared off by mortgage rates of up to 30%, which is in turn fuelling a rental market boom and driving up prices there as well.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine will not agree to reduce its Armed Forces even if Kyiv receives an invitation to join NATO, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists in Brussels overnight on Dec. 19.
AP News: Unsettled by Russia’s expansionism and emboldened by its recent accession to NATO, Finland is rallying to strengthen its national self-defense beyond its traditional military capabilities.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's economy has adapted well to the realities of the full-scale war while Russia's economy faces increasingly unfavorable forecasts, The Economist wrote on Dec. 18.
worth mentioning
EIB provides €16.5 million for new public transport in war-torn cities of Ukraine
5 killed, 7 injured in fire at detention facility housing war deserters in Russia's Sakha Republic
Foreign Policy: Why Russia is not a great power in Africa
Russa-Ukraine Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Do you think your friend or colleague should know about this newsletter? Forward it to them, please.They can also sign up here
Please consider supporting my work