More News

AFP: The presence of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian troops in the Russian region of Kursk has not yet had a major impact on the course of the fighting, a Ukrainian military intelligence official told AFP on Tuesday.

Reuters: A ballistic missile struck an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring 15, four of them seriously, officials said.

The Moscow Times: Russian authorities designated a record 65 organizations as “undesirable” in 2024, the independent news website Vyorstka reported Tuesday, citing government data.

United24 Media: Ukraine has received the first $1 billion installment of a $20 billion loan from the United States, backed by proceeds from frozen Russian assets.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine has received $1bn from Japan and the U.K. through the World Bank’s Growth Foundations Development Policy Loan program, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Dec. 24.

Conscripts and their families told The Insider how military enlistment officials, together with Russia’s National Guard (Rosgvardiya), tase prospective soldiers with electric shockers and threaten them with criminal charges in an effort to force them into uniform.

WaPo: President Joe Biden is weighing major new sanctions against Russia’s energy sector in his final weeks in office, as the administration considers a parting blow in its financial war against Putin (archive).

Nato is “not ready” to fight against Putin’s Russia without the US, the leaders of the alliance’s three frontline states have told The Independent, as they called on allies to drastically increase defence spending.

The Kyiv Independent: Russian troops are likely seeking to seize a bridgehead on the western bank of the Dnipro River or one of its islands in order to transfer firepower there, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Southern Command said.

Bloomberg: The secretive oil trader known as 'Hector' has emerged as a key player in the supply of Iranian arms to Russia, according to US officials and people familiar with his dealings (archive).

Meduza: Russia’s Digital Development Ministry and the federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, are considering a proposal to block calls made through messaging apps, citing efforts to combat fraud.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian drones targeted the city of Millerovo in Russia’s Rostov Oblast overnight on Dec. 24, the local governor said. Millerovo hosts a military airbase. According to Ukraine, it houses fighter jets that “perform tasks to support Russian infantry operating in the east and south of Ukraine.”

Reuters: A Russian court has sentenced U.S. citizen Eugene Spector to a total of 15 years in jail after convicting him of espionage in a closed-door trial, Russian state news agencies reported on Tuesday.

The Guardian: An engine room explosion sank a Russian cargo ship called Ursa Major in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria and two of its crew are missing, the Russian foreign ministry has said.

The Kyiv Independent: The U.S. Defense Department has allocated $253.7 million to Williams International through the Defense Production Act to increase missile production, part of which will form military assistance programs for Ukraine, the Pentagon reported on Dec. 23.

worth mentioning

Russia bans cryptocurrency mining in the Caucasus and occupied Ukraine

Indian state refiners may buy Mideast spot oil to replace Russian shortfall

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

Here are my: Telegram & Socials

Please consider supporting my work