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Morning Headlines

Reuters: Putin is open to discussing a Ukraine ceasefire deal with Donald Trump but rules out making any major territorial concessions and insists Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO, five sources with knowledge of Kremlin thinking told Reuters.

BBC News: US President Joe Biden has agreed to give Ukraine anti-personnel land mines, a US official told the BBC. The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said such mines would be delivered soon and Washington expected that they would be used on Ukraine's territory.

AP News: The Pentagon will send Ukraine at least $275 million in new weapons, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as the Biden administration rushes to do as much as it can to help Kyiv fight back against Russia before Trump takes office.

Reuters: Around 10,900 North Korean troops have been deployed to Kursk as part of Russia's airborne unit and marines, with some already participating in battles in the Ukraine war, a South Korean lawmaker said on Wednesday citing the country's spy agency.

ISW: The contours of the Kremlin's nuclear blackmail remain unchanged despite the updates to Russia's nuclear doctrine, and factions within the Kremlin are reportedly arguing over a lack clarity about Russia’s own nuclear "red lines."

More News

Reuters: Ukraine used U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Tuesday, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing Biden administration on the war's 1,000th day.

CNN: European officials are looking toward Russia after two submarine internet cables in the Baltic Sea were suddenly disrupted in an apparent sabotage operation, just weeks after the United States warned that Moscow was likely to target critical undersea infrastructure.

Reuters: Denmark is making a new donation of about $138 million for development of Ukraine's arms industry, its latest contribution to the sector, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday.

The UK is expanding its military support for Ukraine with a major funding package to provide new drone capabilities, as the defence against Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion enters its 1,000th day.

The Kyiv Independent: As attitudes around potential future peace negotiations continue to shift in Ukraine, 52% of Ukrainians now say that they would like to see their country negotiate an end to the war "as soon as possible," according a survey published by Gallup on Nov. 19.

Reuters: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday he regretted the fact the G20 communique did not underscore Russia's responsibility for the Ukraine war, particularly on the 1,000th day of its full-scale invasion.

Bloomberg: Putin plans to visit India for the first time since he ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a further sign of that US-led efforts to isolate him on the world stage are failing (archive).

Ukrainska Pravda: Russian companies are facing account blockages in major Chinese banks due to their registered addresses matching those of organisations under sanctions.

The Moscow Times: Russia’s Central Bank set the ruble’s official exchange rate at over 100 to the dollar for Wednesday, marking the first time the currency has slipped pass the symbolic threshold in more than a year. Wednesday’s rate, pegged by the cenbank at 100.03 rubles per dollar, reflects a nearly 19% devaluation since early August.

The Kyiv Independent: Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced on Nov. 19 that major EU countries are prepared to step up military and financial assistance to Ukraine if the U.S. reduces its support under Trump’s administration.

Reuters: Russia has begun serial production of mobile bomb shelters that can protect against a variety of threats including shockwaves and radiation from a nuclear blast.

Britain sanctioned 10 Russian officials and state-linked youth organisations on Tuesday, saying they were involved in a systematic attempt to indoctrinate Ukraine's children.

Bloomberg: Ukraine warned New Delhi that Russian firms are setting up fronts in India to skirt US sanctions, a development that could hurt India’s ties with Western partners wary of technology and weapons falling into the hands of Moscow (archive).

The Kyiv Independent: A Russian drone attack in Sumy Oblast late on Nov. 18 killed at least 10 people, including a child, and injured at least 13 people, the State Emergency Service reported on Nov. 19.

Politico: European leaders should be prepared to send military forces to Ukraine to underpin any peace deal engineered by Donald Trump between Kyiv and Moscow, Estonia’s foreign minister has said.

Meduza: Since the start of the full-scale war, over 1,000 soldiers from the Russian military’s 20th Motorized Rifle Division have gone AWOL, according to a new report from iStories. That's enough to fill an entire regiment.

AP News: Putin on Tuesday formally lowered the threshold for Russia’s use of its nuclear weapons, a move that follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russian territory with American-supplied longer-range missiles. The new doctrine allows for a potential nuclear response by Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power.

worth mentioning

NATO holds large Arctic exercises in Russia's backyard

Russian invasion toll on environment $71 billion, Ukraine says

Russian lawmakers approve debt relief bill for new army recruits

Ukraine 2025 wheat crop seen rising on larger sowing area

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