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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Russia's Internal Affairs ministry is preparing a bill that would oblige foreigners entering the country to sign a "loyalty agreement" that would bar them from discrediting official policies, the TASS state news agency reported early on Wednesday.
FT: EU countries including France and Belgium are permitting transshipments of billions of cubic metres of Russian gas, a practice banned by the UK and others, in a scheme that helps Moscow fund its war against Ukraine.
Reuters: If the United States expects to win the next arms race then Washington is mistaken, a senior Russian diplomat said in remarks published on Wednesday, adding that a military conflict between Moscow and NATO cannot be ruled out.
ISW: Putin’s articulation of a Russian nation (incl. Ukrainians and dominated by Moscow) reiterates longstanding Kremlin justifications for its invasion of Ukraine and aggression toward its neighbors, and Putin’s claim that “western Russophobia” affects all the ethnicities in the Russian state is likely intended to rally support among Russian citizens who are not ethnically Russian for Putin’s war.
Reuters: Once a North Korean experiment in limited capitalism, the Rason Special Economic Zone appears to be the epicentre of the isolated country's growing cooperation with Russia, experts say, including possible shipments of arms for the war in Ukraine.
The Insider: New EU sanctions will allow Finnish authorities to seize the Helsinki Halli (formerly Hartwall Arena) — an indoor arena owned by oligarchs Arkady Rotenberg, Boris Rotenberg, and Gennady Timchenko, according to a report by the Finnish News Agency (STT).
Reuters: Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's teenage son, who was shown beating a prisoner in custody this year, has been named as an observer in a new battalion that is part of Russia's defence ministry forces, a senior Chechen official said late on Tuesday.
More News
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian truckers began a counterprotest at the Polish border on Nov. 28 in response to the ongoing blockade by Polish truckers, the Polish media outlet RMF 24 reported.
POLITICO: The EU has helped Kazakhstan hold its own against Moscow and Beijing, the country's deputy foreign minister Roman Vassilenko told POLITICO.
FT: Google has run adverts on hundreds of questionable websites including sanctioned sites in Iran and Russia, according to new research that has prompted calls for greater transparency and oversight of its $223bn-a-year ads business.
ICIJ: New details have emerged about an ongoing criminal investigation by Cyprus authorities into how one of Russia’s richest men may have used the Mediterranean country as a conduit to avoid war-related sanctions.
Reuters: The wife of Ukraine's military spy chief has been poisoned with heavy metals and is undergoing treatment in a hospital, a spokesperson for the agency said on Tuesday.
The Insider: A foundation run by Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova has acquired a stake in Geoscan, the largest Russian UAV manufacturer, according to a report by the independent publication Verstka.
Reuters: Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travellers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt the unusually large flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, which the government and its allies say is an orchestrated move by Moscow.
The Moscow Times: Ukraine said Russian shelling of a border village in the northeastern Sumy region on Tuesday killed three people, including a seven-year-old child.
The Council of the EU approved on an additional €194 million for its training mission for Ukrainian soldiers, bringing the total funding to €255 million.
Kathimerini: The US is reportedly discussing with Greece the sale of a total of 75,000 artillery shells from the Hellenic Armed Forces’ stockpile as part of the effort to replenish Ukrainian ammunition in the war against Russia.
Novaya-Europe: Russian units fighting in Ukraine have established a system of bribes to purchase various services including “injuries”, leave, rotation and even to avoid active combat altogether, Novaya Gazeta Europe has discovered.
Meduza: In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published Monday, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the West should give Ukraine everything it needs to successfully restore control over its territory.
AFP: NATO members on Tuesday urged each other not to let up in backing Ukraine's fight against Russia, amid doubts over US support and a bloody stalemate on the ground.
The Moscow Times: Relatives of mobilized Russian soldiers sent to fight in Ukraine have started placing anti-mobilization stickers on their cars as they continue to call for the return of their loved ones from the front.
AP News: The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states and of Ukraine said Tuesday they will boycott a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe being held this week in North Macedonia, in objection to the participation of Russia’s foreign minister.
Reuters: Members of Russia's LGBTQ community fear a court ruling due on Thursday will label them "extremists" and pave the way for arrests and prosecutions of those who speak out for gay and transgender people.
Ukrainska Pravda: Sweden supports Finland's decision to close several border crossings in response to the recent influx of migrants and asylum seekers from Russia.
Reuters: Iran has finalised arrangements for the delivery of Russian made Sukhoi su-35 fighter jets and helicopters, Iran's deputy defence minister told Iran's Tasnim news agency on Tuesday, as Tehran and Moscow forge closer military relations.
Europol: In an unprecedented effort, law enforcement and judicial authorities from seven countries have joined forces with Europol and Eurojust to dismantle and apprehend in Ukraine key figures behind significant ransomware operations wreaking havoc across the world.
AFP: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that military and financial support for Ukraine was of "existential importance" to Europe, defending defence spending commitments as Berlin confronts a domestic budget crisis.
worth mentioning
Russian prisoner with learning difficulties sent to fight in Ukraine
Alternate reality: How Russian society learned to stop worrying about the war (a long read)
India to step up coking coal shipments from Russia
Russia to start presidential election campaign shortly
Russian court extends detention of US journalist Gershkovich
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