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AP News: House Speaker Mike Johnson told fellow Republicans on Tuesday that sweeping changes to U.S. border policy would be their “hill to die on” in negotiations that have already grown tense as Congress considers President Joe Biden’s $110 billion package for the wars in Ukraine and Israel and other security needs.

Reuters: Russia in recent weeks rejected a substantial new proposal for the release of Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, two Americans considered by the U.S. to be "wrongfully detained" in Russia, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.

AFP: The United States unveiled sanctions on Tuesday against the head of the Belarus Red Cross, accusing him of being complicit in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

France 24: Representatives of international sports federations and national Olympic committees on Tuesday called for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be admitted under a neutral flag for the 2024 Games in Paris "as soon as possible".

POLITICO: Ukraine’s top national security leaders are in Washington this week for a series of critical meetings with their U.S. and NATO counterparts as Kyiv seeks to become a weapons-building powerhouse once again.

AFP: Ukraine said Tuesday it was investigating alleged corruption into arms procurement but vowed there was no "misuse" of the Western weapons pouring into the country to fight the Russian invasion.

RFE/RL: A Russian lawmaker said that the State Duma was set to approve a bill on the recognition of the Sea of Azov, enclosed by occupied areas of Ukraine and Crimea, as an internal Russian body of water by the end of 2023.

AP News: The U.S. on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a Belgian involved in procuring electronics for the Russian military, his companies and a group of Belarusian firms and people tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meduza: Relatives of Russian draftees stationed near the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka have written a letter to Putin complaining that the soldiers are facing “deliberate extermination” after their command ordered for injured fighters to be sent to assault units.

The Kyiv Independent: The ambassadors of Baltic countries expressed their dissatisfaction to Poland over the ongoing blockade of the Ukrainian border, as it undermines Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russia, the Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on Dec. 5.

Ukrainska Pravda: Russia and Iran have signed a joint declaration on working together to counter Western sanctions imposed on both countries.

The Moscow Times: Russian soldiers’ requests for help deserting their units in Ukraine have almost doubled in recent months, the Idite Lesom (“Get Lost”) group, which helps Russians evade fighting in the war, told The MT.

The Kyiv Independent: An Armenian representative will not participate in the Collective Security Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly meeting, to be held in Moscow on Dec. 19, the Public Radio of Armenia reported on Dec. 5.

AFP: Two Finnish companies are suspected of having exported drones and other military classified products worth over three million euros to Russia in violation of EU sanctions, Finnish Customs said Tuesday.

Reuters: Six Ukrainian children will be returned to Ukraine from Russia under a deal brokered by Qatar, a Qatari official said on Tuesday, with a source involved in organising the returns saying they had been staying with relatives in Russia or Russian-occupied territory.

The Kyiv Independent: Finland plans to increase its artillery ammunition production in the next few weeks to arm Ukraine, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said in an interview with the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.

The Moscow Times: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Moscow on Thursday for talks with Putin, the Kremlin confirmed Tuesday. Raisi’s trip will come a day after Putin travels to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for talks on energy and regional politics.

Euronews: Ukrainian investigators are gathering evidence near the destroyed Kakhovka dam as part of an "ecocide" case against Russia it plans to take to ICC.

Newsweek: Russia has recruited over 100,000 convicts from penal colonies to fight in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, Newsweek has found.

worth mentioning

2023 review: Ukraine scores key victories in the Battle of the Black Sea

Russia’s Central Bank to ban use of Apple products at work

In Russia, some women demand return of their men from Ukraine front

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