Ukraine

Politico Europe reports: The U.S. supports blocking Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics unless it is “absolutely clear” that they are not representing their respective countries, the White House announced on Thursday. As Russia continues to wage its almost yearlong war in Ukraine, a handful of Ukrainian allies have called on the International Olympic Committee to ban all …

Reuters reports: Germany announced plans on Wednesday to deliver heavy tanks to Ukraine, and the United States was poised to do so too, a breakthrough hailed as a decisive military boost by Kyiv and condemned by Moscow as a reckless provocation. Kyiv has been calling for months for Western main battle tanks that would give its forces greater firepower, protection …

The Washington Post reports: Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and a senior security official in President Vladimir Putin’s administration, said Saturday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should perform a ritualistic suicide by disembowelment to repent for what Medvedev called servitude to the United States. Medvedev’s remarks were in response to a joint statement Friday by President Biden and Kishida, …

Axios reports: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky declared in a pre-recorded video message at the Golden Globes on Tuesday night that while the war against Russia’s invading military “is not over” yet, “the tide is turning.” “The First World War claimed millions of lives,” said Zelensky. “The Second World War claimed tens of millions of them. There will be no Third …

Reuters reports: Russia’s government extended support to a legislative amendment that would classify maps that dispute the country’s official “territorial integrity” as punishable extremist materials, the state-owned TASS news agency reported on Sunday. The amendment to Russia’s anti-extremism legislation stipulates that “cartographic and other documents and images that dispute the territorial integrity of Russia” will be classified as extremist materials, …

The Insider reports: The Ukrainian military is warning that Putin is planning to mobilize up to half a million new troops in preparation for a new offensive in Ukraine. Speaking to the German news site T-Online, Andriy Chernyak, a Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service representative, said that they believe the mobilization will be announced on January 15, after the Orthodox Christian …

NBC reports: The cease-fire ordered unilaterally by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with the start of Orthodox Christmas began Friday but was rejected by Ukraine and its allies as a cynical move designed to buy time on the battlefield and favor in the eyes of the public. The 36-hour truce declared by Russia came into effect at midday Moscow …

NBC News reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed his military to observe a cease-fire in Ukraine for 36 hours and called on Kyiv to do the same, the Kremlin said Thursday, in a move that coincides with Russian Orthodox Christmas. Ukraine indicated earlier it wouldn’t support such a move, and has long viewed suggestions of a truce as favoring …

The Associated Press reports: Unauthorized use of cell phones by Russian soldiers led to a deadly Ukrainian rocket attack on the facility where they were stationed, according to the Russian military, as it raised the death toll from the weekend attack to 89. Gen. Lt. Sergei Sevryukov said in a statement late Tuesday that phone signals allowed Kyiv’s forces to …

The Associated Press reports: Ukrainian forces fired rockets at a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed, killing 63 of them, Russia’s defense ministry said Monday, in one of the deadliest attacks on the Kremlin’s forces since the war began more than 10 months ago. Ukrainian forces fired six rockets from a HIMARS launch system and …

The Hill reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Russia that “no one will ever forgive you” for spreading terror following a series of missile attacks on the day of New Year’s Eve. Zelensky said in an address on Saturday that the missile attacks will not mark the end of the year but the outcome of Russia’s fate in that it …

Reuters reports: Russia fired scores of missiles into Ukraine early on Thursday, targeting Kyiv and other cities including Lviv in the west and Odesa in the southwest, sending people rushing to shelters and knocking out power in one of Moscow’s largest aerial assaults.  Ukraine’s military said it had shot down 54 missiles out of 69 launched by Russia. Air raid …

The Associated Press reports: Ukraine’s foreign minister on Monday said that his government is aiming to have a peace summit by the end of February, preferably at the United Nations with Secretary-General António Guterres as a possible mediator, around the time of the anniversary of Russia’s war. Asked about whether they would invite Russia to the summit, he said that …

ABC News reports: Pope Francis used his Christmas message Sunday to lament the “icy winds of war” buffeting humanity and to make an impassioned plea for an immediate end to the fighting in Ukraine, a 10-month-old conflict he decried as “senseless.” At noon local time, Francis delivered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (Latin for “‘to the city and to the …

Reuters reports: Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine but Kyiv and its Western backers have refused to engage in talks, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview aired on Sunday. “We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the …

CNN reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday used the word “war” to refer to the conflict in Ukraine, the first known time he has publicly deviated from his carefully crafted description of Moscow’s invasion as a “special military operation” 10 months after it began. “Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, …

CBS News reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address a joint meeting of Congress Wednesday night as part of his first trip outside Ukraine since Russia launched its assault on his country in February. The trip comes as Congress considers a massive government funding bill that includes $45 billion for Ukraine aid. The Ukrainian president addressed Congress virtually in …

Yahoo News reports: President Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold a joint press conference Wednesday afternoon following their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office. Zelensky’s visit is his first foreign trip since Russia invaded his country in February, and was kept secret while it was planned. The press event precedes an address by Zelensky to Congress, which may …

Axios reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Washington on Wednesday to meet President Biden, hold a press conference at the White House and address a joint session of Congress, a senior administration official told reporters. Zelensky had not left Ukraine since Russia launched its brutal invasion on Feb. 24. During the visit, Biden will announce another $2 billion in U.S. military aid …

Reuters reports: When telecoms gear makers Nokia and Ericsson leave Russia at the end of the year, their departure could steadily cripple the country’s mobile networks over the long-term, setting off a deterioration in communication for everyday Russians. Ericsson and Nokia, which together account for a large share of the telecoms equipment market and close to 50% in terms of …