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CNN: There was an explosion at a Russian base in the occupied city of Enerhodar, close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as a result of a resistance operation, according to Ukrainian Defense Intelligence. They said the explosion occurred Monday morning at the headquarters of Russia's special riot police force, known as the OMON unit.

Reuters: Ukraine said on Monday its troops had liberated the southeastern settlement of Robotyne and were trying to push further south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces.

CNN: Even as Ukrainian forces have breached the first line of Russian defenses on part of the southern front, soldiers taking part in the counteroffensive have revealed just how difficult it is to make more than incremental gains in the face of complex and multi-layered fortifications.

Meduza: A new investigation from Novaya Gazeta Europe found that the number of nonprofit organizations working to support Russian soldiers and draftees has increased significantly since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

WSJ Exclusive: Russia is adapting to Western sanctions on its military supply chain by turning to a netherworld of shipping and logistics companies to bring in more of the armed drones from Iran now playing a pivotal role in its war in Ukraine, according to an assessment from the government in Kyiv reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Ukrainska Pravda: In August, the Defence Forces of the southern part of Ukraine destroyed a Russian mobile coastal radar station for over-the-horizon detection Predel-E, worth $200 million.

POLITICO: Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala delivered a warning Monday about the major threat posed by Russian imperialist foreign policy. “The consequences of Russian aggression are manifold and to a certain extent they also affect the nervousness we feel in our country,” he said.

AFP: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to visit Russia "soon" for talks with Putin on reviving a deal to ship grain across the Black Sea, his party spokesman said Monday.

The European Union must be ready to admit new member states by 2030, European Council President Charles Michel told a forum in the Slovenian lake resort of Bled on Monday.

The Kyiv Independent: The Yermak-McFaul Expert Group on Russian Sanctions examined 174 foreign components from three drone models used by Russia to attack Ukraine — Shahed-136/131, Lancet, and Orlan-10 — discovering that more than 60% had come from China.

Reuters: NATO's newest member Finland plans to spend 2.3% of its gross domestic product on defence next year, its defence ministry said on Monday.

DW: Ukraine is known as one of Europe's biggest grain producers. But it also possesses highly valuable natural resources such as iron ore and coal — which Russia is keen to exploit.

Reuters: Pope Francis came under criticism on Monday for telling Russian youths to remember that they are the heirs of past tsars such as Peter the Great, who President Vladimir Putin has held up as an example to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

Reuters: Sweden charged a man on Monday with spying on it and the United States on behalf of Russia and unlawfully transferring advanced technology to Russia's armed forces over a nine-year period.

Meduza: The Kremlin has begun handpicking the challengers to Putin’s re-election bid next spring, Russia’s independent news website Meduza reported Monday. The Putin’s administration has decided that it will not register candidates under 50 so that Putin does not look like an old man.

CNN: Moldova’s President Maia Sandu has told CNN that “Ukraine needs to get more support… and everybody should understand that if Ukraine is not helped, then Russia will not stop in Ukraine or Moldova.”

Reuters: Lithuania's interior ministry will propose to the government to close two out of the country's four remaining border crossing points with Belarus, news agency BNS reported on Monday, quoting Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite.

Reuters: Poland and the Baltic states will close their borders with Belarus entirely if a "critical incident" involving Wagner mercenaries takes place, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Monday.

RFE/RL: Rights activists says migrants from Central Asian countries are being pressured into signing contracts with Russia's Defense Ministry as the Kremlin tries to bolster the pool of recruits to help fight its war against Ukraine.

CNN: “We have no funding restrictions,” Putin told a gathering of military top brass in December. “The country, the government will provide whatever the army asks for.” Eighteen months into his war in Ukraine, Putin seems to be keeping that promise. But he’s doing it increasingly at the expense of another, unspoken, compact with the Russian people: to maintain economic stability at home.

worth mentioning

Russia's Putin to not visit India for G20 summit next month

Arrest warrants issued in Lebanon for 2 Russians suspected of spying for Israel

How a friend of Putin's daughter, Kirill Dmitriev, became the Kremlin's chief “fixer”

Russia Weighs Unified Fertilizer Trader to Boost Pricing Power

Kaja Kallas faces more heat amid probe of husband’s Russia business ties

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