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Morning Headlines
Reuters: The Biden administration plans to impose more sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, taking aim at its oil revenues with action against tankers carrying Russian crude.
AFP: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the United States believed Russia was expanding space cooperation with North Korea in exchange for its troop contribution in fighting Ukraine.
ISW: Russian sources expressed concern about the Russian military's ability to react to Ukraine's ongoing combined arms efforts to integrate electronic warfare and long-range strike capabilities with ground operations.
05.01.2025
CNN: Ukraine has launched a counterattack in the southern Russian border region of Kursk, warning that Russia is “getting what it deserves.”
FT: The number of dark fleet vessels has grown to about a fifth of the world fleet after Russian-linked owners bought up hundreds of ageing ships to circumvent western countries’ curbs on the country’s oil trade (archive).
The Kyiv Independent: Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi ordered to boost Ukraine's 155th "Anne of Kyiv" Mechanized Brigade with drones after reports of desertion and mismanagement, he said on Jan. 5.
AP News: Thirty-two dolphins have died since fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers three weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, which separates the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula from Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, an animal rescue group said Sunday.
The Kyiv Independent: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected on Jan. 5 claims that he could meet with Putin before the end of February, RND reported.
Reuters: Nine civilians including women and children were killed in an attack on a vehicle in Mali's Segou region last week, a civil society group and a rebel coalition said late on Saturday, accusing the army and Russian mercenaries of being responsible.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian Kraken unit killed Sergei Melnikov, the chief of staff of Russia's Storm Ossetia battalion, and his driver in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in late December, Ukraine's military intelligence reported on Jan. 5.
ISW: Russian forces have reportedly been using fewer armored vehicles in assaults in the most active areas of the frontline in recent weeks, possibly in order to conserve these vehicles as Soviet stocks dwindle.
04.01.2025
Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russian and North Korean forces suffered heavy losses in fighting in Russia's southern Kursk region.
CNN: Russia is demanding the United Nations condemn Kyiv following an alleged drone attack that it claims killed a 'journalist' working for a Russian outlet and injured several others.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia struck a multi-story residential building in the Svesa village in Sumy Oblast on Jan. 4, injuring at least 10 people, including two 2-year-old children, the regional police reported.
Ukrinform: During the season of autumn and winter storms, Russia lost almost half of the barge barriers installed to protect the Crimea Bridge from Ukrainian maritime drone attacks.
Militarnyi: The commander of the Iskander missile division involved in the massacre of civilians in the village of Hroza was blown up in Russia.
The Kyiv Independent: Drones attacked Russia's largest commercial seaport, Ust-Luga, in Leningrad Oblast overnight on Jan. 4, the independent news channel Astra reported.
Reuters: Russian forces continue to launch attacks near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in an effort to bypass it from the south and cut off supply routes to Ukraine's troops, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday.
Ukrinform: Slovak power grid operator SEPS assured that, despite the threats voiced by Prime Minister Roberto Fico, electricity exports to Ukraine will not be interrupted.
03.01.2025
The Kyiv Independent: Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on Chernihiv on Jan. 3, killing one person and injuring four others, Chernihiv Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Chaus said.
Politico: United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will convene a meeting of Ukraine’s allies at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany next Thursday to discuss military aid — just days before Trump returns to the White House for a second term as president.
RBC-Ukraine: Successful strikes on enemy military targets, including in the temporarily occupied Crimea, have complicated the use of the military naval base in Sevastopol for the Russians, Oleksiy Neizhpapa, Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reports.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine is planning to raise more than $1 billion in 2025 to develop the so-called Danish model of funding for Ukraine's defense production, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Jan. 3.
Reuters: Russia launched a barrage of drones in an overnight attack on Ukraine on Friday, killing one civilian and injuring four others in the Kyiv region, the military and regional officials said.
The New Arab: Algeria and Russia, long-time allies, are scrambling to patch up ties after months of tension over the Sahel, Libya, and military presence in North Africa.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia is planning to ship some military equipment and weapons from the Tartus naval base in Syria to Libya, Ukraine's military intelligence claimed on Jan. 3.
RFE/RL: At least 1,000 residents of Crimea have died fighting for Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to an investigation by RFE/RL.
Reuters: A Russian court has ordered internet company Yandex to hide access to maps and photos of one of Russia's largest oil refineries due to constant attacks by Ukrainian drones.
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