26.11.2023

Bloomberg: New US aid for Ukraine and Israel will be difficult to pass before the end of the year, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner said, while Congress remains at odds over proposed changes to securing the southern border.

The Kyiv Independent: An explosion occurred on Nov. 26 at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant in Russia, leading to a severe fire, the Moscow Times reported. According to the newspaper, the plant provides engines for T-72 and T-90 tanks, Terminator armored fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery.

A Ukrainian source contacted by Le Monde confirmed that Ukrainian special forces, who cover military intelligence, are currently positioned in Sudan.

The Kyiv Independent: Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said that the EU should hold off selling ammunition to third countries, prioritizing procurement for Ukraine.

AFP: Hamas on Sunday said it had released a Russian hostage held by its militants in the Gaza Strip, without saying who was freed or exactly when.

The Moscow Times: Russia on Sunday put Meta Platforms spokesperson Andy Stone on a wanted list on unspecified charges as the U.S. social media giant — which owns Facebook — is classed as "extremist" by Moscow.

The Guardian: The dossier compiled by Ukraine and circulated to the major countries which have imposed sanctions identifies key Russian firms involved in the development and production of electronic military equipment. It says the UK and other countries have not yet sanctioned some of the firms involved.

AP News: As the war grinds into its second winter, a growing number of Russian soldiers want out, as suggested in secret recordings obtained by The Associated Press of Russian soldiers calling home from the battlefields of the Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine.

AFP: Russia said Sunday it had downed Ukrainian drones over five regions, including Moscow, as well as two Ukrainian missiles over the Azov Sea, a day after a large-scale Russian drone attack on Kyiv.

Bloomberg: Russian shipments of donated grain are due to begin landing in Africa within days, giving fresh impetus to its bid to bolster its influence in the continent.

25.11.2023

Reuters: Ukraine needs more air defences to protect its grain export routes as well as regions bordering Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, as he addressed an international summit on food security in Kyiv.

The Kyiv Independent: Some EU countries seek to weaken the bloc's plans aimed against Russia's ability to acquire restricted dual-use goods via third-party countries, Bloomberg reported.

POLITICO: The White House on Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine in a statement marking the anniversary of Holodomor, drawing parallels between Russia’s offensive and the 1930s Soviet-imposed famine that killed millions of Ukrainians.

Bloomberg: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that special convoys will accompany vessels carrying key exports from Ukraine, including foodstuffs, via the Black Sea to ensure safe passage.

President Berset announced in Kyiv that Switzerland would contribute towards helping those affected by transferring three million francs to the World Food Programme.

The Kyiv Independent: Russia’s military began covering its Shahed attack drones with carbon to complicate the work of Ukrainian air defense, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said.

The Insider: Analysts from the Bot Blocker project have uncovered a surge in bot activity spreading images with fake quotes from celebrities calling on Western countries to stop supporting Ukraine.

AP News: As war and winter collide, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged during a recent visit to Washington that the days ahead “will be tough” as his country battles Russia while U.S. support from Congress hangs in the balance.

AFP: Ukraine said Saturday dozens of residential buildings and over 100 facilities were without power in Kyiv after a large-scale Russian drone attack, which it said was the biggest in the 21 month-long invasion.

Bloomberg: A top US Treasury official is set to visit Turkey next week for talks on American sanctions against Russian entities and the illicit activities of Palestinian militant group Hamas, according to people familiar with the discussions.

24.11.2023

Reuters: Denmark will increase its military support for Ukraine by 2.3 billion Danish Crowns ($336.65 million) this year, the Danish defence ministry said on Friday. The donation comes on top of the 5.4 billion the Nordic country had allocated to a fund set up for military donations to Ukraine.

France 24: The leaders of Canada and the European Union reiterated strong support at a summit Friday for Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion, with new military assistance announced by Ottawa.

The Guardian: A new name was added to the cyber-rogues’ gallery of ransomware gangs this week after a criminal group called Rhysida claimed responsibility for an attack on the British Library. The gang's thought to be from Russia or CIS.

Reuters: Ukraine is drawing up reforms to its programme for mobilising troops as the war with Russia rages on with no end in sight, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

The Kyiv Independent: The U.S. and Germany allegedly hope to nudge Ukraine to negotiate with Russia through a carefully targeted scope of arms deliveries, the German tabloid Bild reported on Nov. 24, citing an anonymous government source.

Reuters: Russia must stop sending asylum seekers across its frontier into Finland in what amounts to a "hybrid attack", Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Friday, after the Nordic nation temporarily shut all border passenger crossings bar one.

The Insider: Students in Samara are handing in used electronic cigarettes as part of a donation drive to support the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine. Their parts — microcircuits and batteries — are repurposed to operate ammunition release systems in combat drones.

Reuters: Putin on Friday warned that the West should not be allowed to develop a monopoly in the sphere of artificial intelligence, and said that a much more ambitious Russian strategy for the development of AI would be approved shortly.

AP News: French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Friday that China’s cooperation is vital on an issue that has divided it and much of Europe: ending the war in Ukraine. She encouraged China to continue working on its Ukrainian peace proposal while also ensuring that Chinese entities do not aid Russia in what she called “the ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine” — phrasing the Chinese side would disagree with.

Reuters: Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on Friday she hoped the country's military support to Ukraine would continue even under a new government led by anti-EU populist Geert Wilders, who has said the Dutch should stop providing Kyiv with arms.

AFP: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday that Russia had failed to deliver weapons Yerevan had already paid for and accused Russia's media of destabilising his country's political situation.

The Moscow Times: Russian and Chinese business executives with government connections have secretly discussed building an underwater tunnel connecting Crimea to Russia, according to communications obtained by the Ukrainian security services and corroborated and reported by the Washington Post.

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