Wednesday, December 4

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Workers install the main Christmas tree on Sofia Square on Dec. 3, 2024 in Kyiv. This Christmas, Kyiv will celebrate without mass events, to ensure safety. The city will not spend budget funds on New Year’s locations — the Christmas tree is set up with donor funds. (Oleksii Samsonov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

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Ukraine, US sign energy resilience memorandum worth $825 million. The document, signed by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting, includes U.S. aid totaling up to $825 million.

Kyiv asking NATO for 20 air defense systems to prevent blackouts. The provision of HAWK, NASAMS, and IRIS-T batteries will help avert blackouts, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said as Ukraine braces for fresh attacks in the third winter of the full-scale war.

Ukraine accelerating missile production, Zelensky says. There is a “significant volume” of new and long-term orders for first-person-view (FPV) drones, reconnaissance drones, long-range drones, and missile-drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Yermak to visit US for talks with Trump’s team, NV reports. Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak will lead a Ukrainian delegation in meetings with U.S. officials, particularly “people from the entourage of … Donald Trump,” sources said.

Ombudsman denies Russian claim that Kyiv is delaying prisoner exchanges. “Ukraine is not delaying and did not delay the exchanges, but on the contrary, declared its readiness to repatriate seriously injured and seriously ill prisoners by creating a mixed medical commission,” Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.

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Ukraine prevents Russia from establishing bridgehead west of Oskil River, military says. Ukrainian troops managed to fend off Russian forces attempting to establish a foothold on the western side of the Oskil River north of the Kharkiv Oblast town of Kupiansk, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Dec. 3.

Yale study names over 300 Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia. Russia has carried out a “systematic, intentional, and widespread” program of forced adoption and Russification of Ukrainian children, according to a study from the Yale School of Public Health.

UNESCO adds Ukrainian egg decoration to intangible cultural heritage list. “The aggressor is destroying our culture, monuments, theaters, libraries, and museums. … We, however, are proving that even in the darkest times, we remain unbroken,” Culture Minister Mykola Tochytskyi said.

Parliament approves Naftogaz chief Chernyshov as deputy PM and ‘minister for national unity.’ Since 2022, Oleksii Chernyshov has been the CEO of the Naftogaz Group, Ukraine’s state-owned energy giant.

Ukrainian journalists meet G7 ambassadors to discuss country’s media landscape. “Press freedom and pluralism are crucial for strengthening democracy, supporting political debate, and advancing Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic path,” the G7’s representation in Ukraine said on X.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv won’t accept security guarantees over NATO invite

“Having the bitter experience of the Budapest Memorandum behind us, we will not settle for any alternatives, surrogates, or substitutes for Ukraine’s full membership in NATO,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Photo: Olha Kharchenko/Global Images Ukraine/Getty

Anti-government protests in Georgia, explained

For the fifth day in a row, Georgians are holding massive protests in the country’s capital, Tbilisi. The brewing dissatisfaction was ignited by the country’s democratic backsliding under  the pro-Russian government.

Photo: Davit Kachkachishvili/Anadolu/Getty Images

Fall of Aleppo deals blow to Russia’s Middle East clout, may indirectly strengthen Ukraine’s hand

There is much at stake for Russia — if Assad’s regime falls, Russia will lose its regional foothold in the Middle East, including its only naval base in the Mediterranean, and its regional and global influence will be diminished.

Photo: Ugur Yildirim/ dia images via Getty Images

Journalists, anti-corruption groups denounce Ukraine’s attempt to increase punishment for state leaks

“This is an attempt by the authorities to hide their dirty laundry from those who most often reveal it to the world,” Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the nonprofit Anti-Corruption Action Center’s executive board, said about the bill.

Photo: Eugen Kotenko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing

Human cost of war

Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 1, injure 8 over previous day. Moscow’s forces targeted energy infrastructure facilities in several regions as Ukraine enters its third winter of the full-scale war.

General Staff: Russia has lost 745,700 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,780 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

We must focus on military aid — NATO chief sidesteps question on invitation for Ukraine. NATO’s two-day ministerial meeting will focus on providing Ukraine with enough military aid to enable it to enter any possible negotiations from a position of strength, Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of the meeting in Brussels on Dec. 3.

Rutte tells Trump ‘bad peace’ in Ukraine could embolden US rivals. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has told U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that Washington would face a “dire threat” from China, Iran, and North Korea if Ukraine is forced to accept an unfavorable peace deal, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 2.

Slovakia’s PM Fico lashes out at EU for expressing support for Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he called European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to convey to her his disagreement. The Slovak prime minister has repeatedly criticized the EU’s support for Ukraine.

UK must help put Kyiv ‘in strongest possible position’ for peace talks, Starmer says. “We must continue to back Ukraine … To put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations so that they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms that guarantees their security, independence, and right to choose their future.”

Western sanctions force Russian importers to smuggle their goods, media reports. The latest Western sanctions against 50 Russian banks forced Russian importers to use complex and underhand schemes to pay their Chinese sellers, the Moscow Times reported on Dec. 2, citing undisclosed business sources.

In other news

Russia to send mercenaries to Syria to reinforce its troops, Ukrainian intelligence claims. Russia is sending private mercenaries to Syria to reinforce its troops, possibly its so-called Africa Corps, the Ukrainian military intelligence agency (HUR) claimed on Dec. 3.

Abkhaz council votes against ratification of controversial agreement with Russia. The council of Russian-occupied Abkhazia did not ratify a controversial investment agreement with Moscow, which sparked protests last month, Interfax reported on Dec. 3.

German court sentences killers of Ukrainian basketball players to 8.5-10 years. The perpetrators were between 14 and 15 years old at the time of the attack and included two Syrian citizens and two German citizens, the ARD news channel reported.

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