15.10.2023

AP News: A Russian governor was accused by critics on Sunday of “discrediting Russia’s armed forces” after telling residents in her region that the country had “no need” for its war in Ukraine.

The Guardian: A top Ukrainian commander has claimed that Russia’s biggest offensive in months – involving tanks, thousands of soldiers and armoured vehicles in an attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka – is failing, as he admitted Kyiv’s own attempts to advance in the south were proving “difficult”.

Reuters: White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that a new weapons package for Israel and Ukraine will be significantly higher than $2 billion. Sullivan said U.S. President Joe Biden will have intensive talks with the U.S. Congress this week on the need for the package to be approved.

The Kyiv Independent: Overnight Ukrainian drone attacks on an energy facility in Russia’s Belgorod region caused blackouts in the area, Ukrainska Pravda media outlet reported on Oct. 15, citing Ukraine’s Security Service sources.

AP News: Russian attacks on Ukraine over a 24-hour period killed six people, local officials reported Sunday.

WSJ: The ending of entente between Russia and Israel highlights a larger tectonic shift under way in Russia’s role in the Middle East since Putin launched his war in Ukraine. Scrambling for arms and allies to execute its botched invasion of Ukraine, Russia has transformed its once-carefully-balanced relationship with Iran while strengthening ties with Arab states such as Egypt, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.

Reuters: Russia exports around 2 million barrels of oil per day to China, accounting for more than a third of its total crude oil exports. China is Russia's second-largest buyer of Russian oil after India.

ISW: The Russian information space remains divided on the prospects of Russian successes near Avdiivka and on current Ukrainian capabilities.

UK Ministry of Defence: Russia almost certainly continues to maintain and improve its rail lines of communication in Ukraine and is constructing a new railway line to Mariupol which will reduce travel times for supplies to the Zaporizhzhia front.

14.10.2023

The Kyiv Independent: Finland is considering several security-related legislative initiatives, including limiting Russians from certain real estate deals, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

Meduza: Sixteen Russian citizens have been killed and another eight are missing after Hamas militants attacked Israel, the Russian Embassy there told TASS.

POLITICO: Officials gathered in Morocco to discuss economic and monetary policy have failed to come to a consensus after countries including Ukraine, the Netherlands, Canada and the Nordics objected to the way the invasion was described in a draft text.

AP News: Ukrainian officials reported intense combat as Russian forces relentlessly assaulted the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka for a fifth consecutive day Saturday.

Bloomberg: Most of Murtaza Lakhani’s Russia-related operations take place in countries not implementing the G-7’s price cap on exports, designed to block oil sold above $60 from critical Western-provided services such as shipping insurance. Having worked with Rosneft PJSC for nearly a decade before the invasion, he was also in a good position to help the state oil giant navigate an increasingly complex sanctions regime.

Meduza: Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed a law ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and recognizing the ICC’s legal powers.

Reuters: Russian investigators on Friday detained three lawyers who have worked for Alexei Navalny, allies of the jailed opposition leader said, in what they called a move to deepen his isolation and deprive him of legal support.

ISW: The Kremlin is likely attempting to frame Russian offensive operations around Avdiivka and other localized efforts as Russian forces seizing the operational initiative in Ukraine.

Meduza: Hamas has thanked Putin for his statements in support of Palestine.

The Kyiv Independent: The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad received part of a $93 million payment through the sanctioned Russian crypto-exchange company Garantex, the Wall Street Journal reported.

13.10.2023

POLITICO: Ukrainian pilots are expected to begin training to fly the F-16 fighter jet at an Air National Guard base in Tuscon, Ariz., next week, according to four U.S. officials.

Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte vowed on Friday to improve Ukraine's air defences and to increase the security of a "humanitarian corridor" for grain exports.

AP News: The White House said on Friday that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine.

Reuters: Russia has destroyed almost 300,000 metric tons of grain since July in attacks on Ukraine's port facilities and on ships, the Ukrainian government said on Friday, underscoring the war's threat to global food security.

Meduza: Ukraine’s Security Service and Naval Forces attacked the Pavel Derzhavin patrol ship, part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, report Ukrainian outlets Hromadske and Ukrainska Pravda.

Yahoo News: A unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces' "Resistance Movement" sabotaged a train in Russian-occupied Melitopol that was carrying ammunition and fuel for the Russian military.

Britain said it planned to step up its military presence in Northern Europe, including deploying 20,000 troops to the region next year, to help protect critical infrastructure at a time of growing concern over Russian sabotage.

Bloomberg: Bulgaria imposed a tax on Russian natural gas, which is transited across its territory, leaving traders to weigh whether the move may spark a dispute with Moscow and fuel shippers amid an already volatile market.

Reuters: European Union leaders meeting later in October will demand "decisive progress" on using Russian assets frozen by sanctions to help Ukraine, according to their draft statement, addressing a matter that has been stuck for months.

BBC News: The UK government has asked the Bank of England to look at options for using Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine's war effort, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has told the BBC.

PACE called on the member States of the Council of Europe “to recognise Putin as illegitimate after the end of his current presidential term and to cease all contact with him, except for humanitarian contact and in the pursuit of peace.”

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