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Morning Headlines
The Guardian: Australia has urged Russia to adhere to international law obligations regarding prisoners of war, after a video purporting to show the Russian capture of an Australian man fighting for Ukraine on the war’s eastern front circulated online.
CNN: North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia were given fake military documents with Russian names and birthplaces, the Ukrainian military said, amid claims from Kyiv that Russia is trying to conceal the presence of foreign fighters on the battlefield.
Yonhap: North Korea appears to be preparing to deploy additional troops and military equipment to Russia, possibly including suicide drones, in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine, the South's military said Monday.
The Kyiv Independent: Trump names five picks for Pentagon jobs. They include Elbridge Colby, who opposes Ukraine's NATO membership but supports tougher sanctions on Moscow, and Michael Duffey, who froze military aid to Kyiv in 2019.
ISW: Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service reported on Dec 22 that international sanctions, Ukrainian drone strikes, reduced Russian oil exports, and high Russian loan rates have caused Russian oil refineries to increase their downtime in 2024.
22.12.2024
AP News: Putin on Sunday hosted Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to the Kremlin by an EU leader since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine's Justice Ministry has faced "serious challenges" after the largest cyberattack in months targeted state registries, but a full restoration is expected within two weeks, First Deputy Justice Minister Mykola Kucheryavenko said on Dec. 22.
The Moscow Times: Russia has seen a wave of arson attacks targeting banks, shopping centers, post offices and government buildings over the last three days, according to media reports.
Reuters: Russia poses a bigger threat to European Union security than just defence as Moscow can use illegal immigration and other issues to undermine the bloc, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday.
AFP: Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Sunday that Russia was a "permanent and dangerous threat" to the EU, and stressed the need for increased defence spending and support for Ukraine.
Reuters: Russian forces executed five Ukrainian prisoners of war, Ukraine's Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said on Sunday.
The Moscow Times: Putin on Sunday vowed to bring more "destruction" to Ukraine in retaliation for a drone attack on the central Russian city of Kazan a day earlier.
The Insider: Companies partially owned by billionaires closely tied to Putin continue to export their products to Western markets without disruption. An investigation by The Insider revealed that even individuals under sanctions are earning billions from deals with EU countries.
The Kyiv Independent: A “massive” Ukrainian drone attack targeted an oil depot near the city of Oryol in western Russia overnight, causing a fire at the site, Oryol Oblast Governor Andrey Klychkov reported on Dec. 22.
ISW: Putin continues to expand Russia's network of military-patriotic education programs for youth in Russia and occupied Ukraine ahead of the Kremlin's upcoming "Year of the Defender of the Fatherland" in 2025.
21.12.2024
The War Zone: Recent satellite imagery of Belbek Air Base, near Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, shows new hardened aircraft shelters and additional construction to help shield aircraft from drone attacks and other indirect fire.
The Kyiv Independent: Claims that air defense personnel are being reassigned to infantry roles due to troop shortages are "not credible, and incorrect," the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said.
WSJ: Russia has stepped up efforts to refurbish old equipment after losing an estimated 11,000 armored combat vehicles in the Ukraine war (archive).
Reuters: Hungary is in talks with Russia and Ukraine on keeping open gas shipments via Ukraine even though its Russian gas imports now come via the Turkstream pipeline, PM Orban said on Saturday, adding he did not want to give up that route.
The Kyiv Independent: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has called for an increase in the country's defense budget, citing Russia as a key reason, German outlet Spiegel reported on Dec. 21.
Reuters: The airport in the Russian city of Kazan reopened on Saturday after temporarily closing earlier in the day following a Ukrainian drone attack, Russia's aviation watchdog said.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia the evening of Dec. 20, injuring four people, including a 12-year-old boy, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
IMF: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund approved the disbursement of $1.1 billion in funds for Ukraine via the Extended Fund Facility, the IMF announced on Dec. 20.
The Kyiv Independent: Over 12,340 civilian deaths have been recorded in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Under-Secretary-General of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs said during a UN Security Council meeting on Dec. 20.
ISW: Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted their first attack solely using unmanned ground vehicles and first-person view drones, highlighting Ukraine's ongoing efforts to leverage technological innovation into ground operations.
20.12.2024
Reuters: Ukraine's security service has named a Russian general it suspects of ordering a missile strike on a hotel in eastern Ukraine in August and said he acted "with the motive of deliberately killing employees of" Reuters.
The Kyiv Independent: A Russian drone struck an apartment building in Kharkiv on Dec. 20, injuring at least six people, including a child, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
Reuters: Russian and Kazakh oil flows to Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany via the Druzhba pipeline have stopped since Thursday due to technical problems at a Russian pumping station.
Norway is contributing to a £186 million package to support Ukraine. The funding will provide much-needed military equipment through the International Fund for Ukraine.
Reuters: The United States has charged a Russian-Israeli dual citizen over alleged involvement with the Lockbit ransomware group, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday.
Bloomberg: The EU purchased a record amount of Russian LNG this year, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Among top byers, France has already hit its highest-ever volumes and Spain is closing in on records seen last year (archive).
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine is already receiving U.S. funds under the framework of the G7's $50 billion loan covered by profits from frozen Russian assets, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Dec 20.
Reuters: The Biden administration will announce in the coming days its final Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package, using up the remaining funds set aside to buy new weapons for Ukraine.
The Moscow Times: Lisbon condemned Russian strikes on Kyiv Friday after it said several diplomatic missions were damaged in the attack, including those of Portugal, Argentina, Albania and Montenegro.
Reuters: The Ukrainian military said on Friday its forces had pulled back from the area around Uspenivka and Trudove villages in the eastern region of Donetsk to avoid being encircled by advancing Russian troops.
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