24.12.2023

The Kyiv Independent: U.K. Defense Minister Grant Shapps has told the Sunday Times in a Dec. 24 interview that the West "cannot afford" to lose the war in Ukraine and that there would be "severe consequences" if Putin wins.

The Moscow Times: Two suspects have been detained in Riga following a grenade attack at a bar where journalists from the BBC Russian service had gathered, Latvian police said Sunday.

AFP: Iran has summoned Russia's envoy to protest a recent statement by Moscow and Arab countries calling for talks over three islands controlled by Tehran but claimed by the United Arab Emirates.

The Kyiv Independent: A new "artillery coalition" to strengthen the Ukrainian army will begin its operations in Paris in January 2024, Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk announced on Dec. 24 during the meeting with the delegation from the Senate of the French Parliament.

Kyiv Post: Russian forces have admitted they are deploying prohibited chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops, even posting a video of them being used.

Ukrainska Pravda: Iceland has announced that it is joining the IT and mine clearance coalitions formed within the framework of the Contact Group on Defence of Ukraine (known as Ramstein).

Reuters: Polish farmers have ended their blockade of one of the border crossings between Ukraine and Poland and the movement of lorries has been fully restored, the Ukrainian border service said on Sunday.

ISW: The timing of Putin’s reported interest in a ceasefire is more consistent with Russia’s ongoing efforts to delay and discourage further Western military assistance to Ukraine, than with a serious interest in ending the war other than with a full Russian victory.

Reuters: Russia was short of around 4.8 million workers in 2023 and the problem will remain acute in 2024, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Sunday, citing experts and research from the Russian Academy of Science's Institute of Economics.

23.12.2023

AP News: A Russian politician calling for peace in Ukraine hit a roadblock in her campaign Saturday, when Russia’s Central Election Commission refused to accept her initial nomination by a group of supporters, citing errors in the documents submitted.

Ukrainska Pravda: A European intelligence service reportedly believes that Russia might make an attempt to attack Europe in the winter of 2024-25, according to Bild.

The Kyiv Independent: The Defense Ministry is considering sending military summons online for Ukrainians both at home and abroad, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told Suspilne.

The Moscow Times: Putin has been telegraphing a readiness to discuss a ceasefire in his nearly two-year war on Ukraine through diplomatic backchannels, The New York Times reported Saturday.

POLITICO: Ukraine's ambassador to Germany on Saturday rejected claims that Berlin may be pressuring Kyiv behind closed doors to reach a peace deal with Russia.

The Kyiv Independent: Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets said Estonia is prepared to aid in mobilizing Ukrainian citizens if requested by Ukraine, according to Postimees.

UK Ministry of Defence: In recent weeks, both Ukrainian and Russian troops have highly likely suffered from exceptional levels of rat and mice infestation in some sectors of the front line.

The Daily Beast: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin may be dead, but witnesses say Russian paramilitaries in the Central African Republic slaughtered dozens of people to secure access to a gold mine.

AFP: Ukraine's military said it has shot down three Russian fighter-bombers in the south of the country. Air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said the Su-34 jets were downed around noon on Friday.

The Kyiv Independent: In a reversal of his earlier decision, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has agreed to support a plan to send the city's scrap vehicles to Ukraine, U.K. media reported on Dec. 23.

22.12.2023

ISW: Allowing Russia to win its war in Ukraine would be a self-imposed strategic defeat for the United States. The US would face the risk of a larger and costlier war in Europe.

Novaya-Europe: Private camps offering so-called conversion therapy to “cure” homosexuality are operating in Russia, according to an investigation published by The Washington Post on Friday.

AP News: President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday giving the U.S. Treasury Department the authority to target financial institutions that facilitate Russia’s efforts to bolster its defense industry.

Anchorage Daily News: Biden also enabled the closure of a sanctions loophole that has allowed the U.S. importation of large quantities of Russian-caught pollock, cod, salmon and crab processed in China.

Reuters: Ukraine and Poland said on Friday they were ready to try to resolve "problematic" issues in their relations, suffering especially by a Polish truckers' blockade of border crossings.

NBC News: In a war of attrition, sabotage, drone attacks and targeted killings inside Russia could be Ukraine’s best chance to put more pressure on Putin and the Kremlin.

Reuters: The Netherlands will deliver 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help its battle against Russia's invasion, the Dutch government said on Friday.

Reuters: Russia is hoping its shipments of liquefied natural gas will offset a sharp fall in pipeline gas exports to Europe, but a shortage of gas tankers and sanctions hold back its plans, analysts and industry sources said.

Reuters: Putin placed Russia's biggest car dealership under temporary state management on Friday, in a step the Kremlin said was driven by commercial logic but which its founder said made the country look uninvestable.

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