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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected on Monday to seal deals with France on a supply of air-defence capabilities, warplanes and missiles, seeking to bolster his army's long-term capacity to fight Russia's ongoing invasion.
The Kyiv Independent: Trump said on Nov. 16 that congressional Republicans are preparing legislation that would impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia.
Reuters: A Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia killed three people and wounded 10, including three children, a regional military official in the Kharkiv region said on Monday.
ISW: The situation in the Hulyaipole direction remains very serious as Russian forces continue to advance and maintain intensified offensive operations.
16.11.2025
France 24: The Greenpeace environment group said Sunday that France was sending reprocessed uranium to Russia for treatment so it can be reused, despite the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. The group argued that while it was legal, the trade was "immoral" as many nations seek to step up sanctions on the Russian government over its invasion.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces struck the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Russia’s Samara Oblast and a drone storage site belonging to Russia’s elite Rubikon unit, Ukraine's General Staff reported on Nov. 16.
Reuters: Russia's Novorossiysk port resumed oil loadings on Sunday after a two-day suspension triggered by a Ukrainian missile and drone attack.
The Guardian: Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a plan to “clean up” Ukraine’s energy sector after an $100m kickback scheme was alleged by anti-corruption investigators in the worst scandal of his presidency.
The Kyiv Independent: Russian forces launched an armored assault on Novopavlivka, a frontliner village in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, which borders Donetsk Oblast, taking advantage of difficult weather conditions and limited visibility. Ukrainian forces said they repelled the Russian attempt to break through.
Reuters: Ukraine has secured imports of U.S liquefied natural gas from Greece to cover its winter needs from December through to March next year, Greek and Ukrainian officials said on Sunday during a visit to Athens by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
AP News: A ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before the spring and European allies need to keep up support despite a corruption scandal which has engulfed Kyiv, President Alexander Stubb of Finland told The Associated Press.
ISW: Russian forces used weather conditions to exploit vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s drone-based battlefield defenses in the Novopavlivka direction, highlighting Ukraine’s need for traditional weapons systems.
15.11.2025
United24 Media: Russian forces are suspected of having shot dead two captured Ukrainian servicemen on the outskirts of the settlement of Zatyshshia in southern Ukraine, according to a statement by Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets on November 15.
The Kyiv Independent: Security Service of Ukraine drone strikes on Russian Novorossiysk's port and oil facilities on Nov. 14 destroyed four S-400 "Triumph" launchers and two radars.
RBC-Ukraine: Ukrainian forces destroyed the road connecting Selidove and Pokrovsk, cutting off Russians' ability to infiltrate the city with light vehicles, according to Facebook 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in the Russian city of Ryazan and hit several other military targets in Russian-occupied territories, Ukraine's General Staff reported on Nov. 15.
Estonia has decided to allocate 3.5 million euros for the purchase of Starlink communication systems for Ukraine within the IT coalition led by Estonia and Luxembourg, with the aim of improving Ukraine’s IT capabilities and supporting its efforts to win the war.
The Moscow Times: Russian economic growth was close to zero in the third quarter, the state statistics agency said Friday, as the costs of the Ukraine war and Western sanctions start to bite.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the village of Novovasylivske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast to "more favorable defensive positions," the Southern Defense Forces confirmed on Nov. 15.
The Guardian: Ukraine has recorded a threefold increase in the number of attacks on its railway system since July, according to a senior minister, as Moscow seeks to scupper one of Kyiv’s key logistical systems.
Politico: The Trump administration extended a sanctions waiver for Russian oil giant Lukoil, days before Washington's measures were set to take effect.
ISW: The Russian military command appears to be prioritizing the seizure of Pokrovsk over efforts to close the wider Ukrainian pocket in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad area.
14.11.2025
Euronews: Germany will finance a €150 million package of weapons for Ukraine through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List iniative, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday.
Reuters: Russia's Saratov oil refinery on the Volga river stopped primary oil refining on November 11 following Ukrainian drone attacks. The plant could remain halted until the end of the month.
Reuters: Ukraine has started mass production of its new domestically developed interceptor drones to strengthen air defences, the Ukrainian defence ministry said on Friday.
Reuters: Azerbaijan said it issued a strong protest to the Russian ambassador on Friday after a Russian Iskander missile damaged its embassy in Kyiv.
The Moscow Times: Fake accounts routinely pose as Ukrainians to seed favorable narratives across VKontakte pages run by Kremlin-backed authorities in occupied Ukraine.
Reuters: Russia plans to manufacture up to 120,000 of its cheap and devastating glide bombs this year, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said, including 500 of a new, longer-range version which can reach more towns and cities.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia is running out of workers to build its Shahed-type deep-strike drones, and Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) says they're calling on North Korea for help. HUR wrote that Russia plans to import 12,000 North Korean workers to make its drones by the end of the year.
AFP: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that his government would take the European Union to court over its decision last month to phase out Russian gas imports.
WSJ: Putin is turning eighth-grade classrooms into army training grounds. A vast militarization of Russia’s education system is gathering pace in classrooms, where active soldiers train students to handle weapons (archive).
AFP: A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD's Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while co-leader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defence of Putin.
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