Thursday, November 28

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A firefighter removes debris after a Russian missile attack on Nov. 26, 2024 in Sumy, Ukraine. According to the acting mayor of Sumy, Artem Kobzar, the Russian army attacked the city with a missile. As a result of the strike, a residential multi-storey building was damaged and a parking lot was destroyed. (Pavlo Zarva/Kordon.Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

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Russia launches mass missile attack against Ukraine’s power grid. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that Russia struck a “massive blow” at the nation’s power grid, with attacks on energy infrastructure occurring throughout the country.

Some commitments from NATO summit in July remain unfulfilled, Zelensky says. Key commitments from NATO’s July summit in Washington, including air defense systems and other military support, have not yet been fully implemented, President Volodymyr Zelensky told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Nov. 27.

US urges Ukraine to lower draft age to 18 amid troop shortage, AP reports. The Biden administration is urging Ukraine to lower its draft age from 25 to 18 in an effort to increase troop numbers, the Associated Press reported on Nov. 27, citing an unnamed senior Biden administration official.

North Korea supports Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Umerov says. “For the Republic of Korea, these actions pose a serious threat, as North Korean troops are gaining combat experience, which could present additional security challenges in the region in the future,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said following his visit to South Korea.

Ukraine approves homemade Oncilla-Shturm armored personnel carrier for military use. “The domestic Oncilla-Shturm armored vehicle demonstrates Ukraine’s progress in creating equipment that meets the modern needs of the battlefield,” Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said.

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Trump nominates retired General Keith Kellogg for Ukraine peace envoy. In June, Reuters reported that General Keith Kellogg proposed Donald Trump a plan that would cease military aid to Ukraine unless it agrees to hold peace negotiations with Russia.

Ex-Minister Kuleba skeptical about peace prospects during Trump’s presidency. According to Ukraine’s former diplomacy chief, Ukraine is a “personal obsession for Putin” but also a way to “show to the world how the West is incapable of defending itself or what it stands for.”

Russia claims Ukraine’s drones, missiles attacked Crimea, explosion reported near airfield. Ukrainian drones and missiles attacked Sevastopol in occupied Crimea on Nov. 27, its Russian-installed proxy head Mikhail Razvozhayev claimed.

Ukrainian soldiers repel attempted Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia sector, National Guard commander says. Ukraine’s Spartan Brigade aerial reconnaissance spotted Russian troops planning to attack the National Guard positions with an infantry group in advance, General Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, said, sharing footage showing the attack.

Russia using bombers it received from Ukraine in 1999, RFE/RL reports. Russia uses at least six Tu-160-type bombers that Ukraine gave to Russia in 1999 as a payment of gas debt, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Schemes’ investigation showed on Nov. 26.

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Ukraine war latest: The Economist estimates 60,000-100,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in full-scale war

Basing its calculations on leaked or published intelligence reports, defense officials, researchers, and open-source intelligence, The Economist wrote that Russia and Ukraine lost a greater share of their population than the U.S. during the Korean and Vietnam wars combined.

Photo: hurricanehank/Global Images Ukraine/Getty

Explaining Ukraine: Vertep, a centuries-old Ukrainian Christmas tradition

Originally staged as a traveling puppet theater, it is now performed by carolers who dress up in elaborate costumes and sing songs blending religious and folk themes. The colorful casts can include up to 40 characters, ranging from religious figures, shepherds, and peasants to animals.

Photo: Artur Widak/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Kyiv Independent launches winter merch collection celebrating Ukrainian traditions

Following on from the launch of the Kyiv Independent’s online store this summer, we are unveiling our first-ever winter collection in time for the holiday season. This collection is a testament to the resilience of Ukrainian culture, a heritage that has faced — and continues to face — the threat of erasure.

Photo: The Kyiv Independent

Human cost of war

Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 2, injure 17 over past day. Russian strikes against Ukraine killed at least two civilians and injured at least 17 over the past day, regional authorities reported on Nov. 27.

General Staff: Russia has lost 735,410 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,580 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

Ex-US ambassador on Russia’s nuclear saber-rattling

International response

Ukraine receives $4.8 billion from World Bank. Ukraine has received a $4.8 billion loan from the World Bank through the PEACE project, Prime Minister Denys Shymhal said on Nov. 27.

White House preparing $725 million military aid package for Ukraine, Reuters reports. The new aid package would include landmines, drones, Stinger missiles, and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), an official familiar with the plan told Reuters.

Biden asking US Congress for $24 billion in Ukraine aid, arms replenishment, Politico reports. Roughly $16 billion of the sum would be used to restock U.S. arsenals, while the remaining $8 billion would go to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), the outlet wrote.

South Korean president meets Ukraine’s delegation to discuss Moscow-Pyongyang ties. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in Seoul on Nov. 27 to discuss the deepening military ties between Russia and North Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Baltic, Nordic countries and Poland to step up support to Ukraine ‘in coming months’. “In the coming months, we will step up our support, including to the Ukrainian defense industry, and we will invest in making more ammunition available to Ukraine,” the joint statement read.

Europe in ‘actual war’ with Russia, former UK intelligence chief says. “I think we have to face up to the fact that the Russians think they’re in a state of war with us,” Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, told Sky News on Nov. 27.

Slovak PM accepts Putin’s invitation to Moscow Victory Day celebrations. Slovakia’s Ukraine-skeptic Prime Minister Robert Fico accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow next May, Fico announced on Nov. 27.

Russia’s ruble sinks to 2022 March levels after US sanctions on Gazprombank. Russia’s ruble took a blow following the news of the U.S. imposing sanctions on 50 Russian banks, including Gazprombank, hitting 108 against the U.S. dollar during early morning trade on Nov. 27.

Opinions and insights

Opinion: Georgescu’s rise exposes the fragility of pro-European Romania

“The meteoric rise of hardcore nationalist Călin Georgescu in Romania’s first-round presidential election over the weekend is nothing short of remarkable,” writes Timothy Ash, associate fellow at Chatham House.

Photo: Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images

Opinion: Georgia’s civil society is the last line of defense for democracy

“The Oct. 26 elections, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory, have brought to the surface deep concerns about the integrity of our democracy,” media rights advocate Mamuka Andguladze writes.

Photo: Giorgi Arjevanidze / AFP via Getty Images

In other news

UK cabinet members on list of those barred from entering Russia. Russia’s Foreign Ministry barred 30 U.K. nationals, including lawmakers, journalists, and ministers like Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, from entering its territory in a decision published on Nov. 26.

NGO warns that lack of funding threatens critical medical evacuation work in Ukraine. MOAS’s team of all-Ukrainian medics has been evacuating critically injured troops during the three years of the full-scale war. The company said its work has managed to save 62,000 lives.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Teah Pelechaty, Boldizsár Győri, Oleg Sukhov, Kateryna Denisova, Sonya Bandouil, and Abbey Fenbert.

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