Dec 8 Buonasera Mag
Day 288: Avdiivka Berdyansk Kherson trenches Naftogaz Volyk Lukashenko Yakunin Uzbekstan Peru Griner-A&Ps-Snyder Tenzer Zelensky NATO Halushka Iacoboni Browder Lucas Soldatov&Borogan
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
Avdiivka village: the Russian forces are using phosphorus, a forbidden weapon.
Stories we’re following…
Three powerful explosions occurred at the air base in occupied Berdyansk, followed by 15 more smaller explosions, - Chairman of the City Military Administration of Berdyansk Victoria Galitsina.
Russia heavily shells Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast overnight. Russian forces used heavy artillery to fire 70 times at Nikopol and the Marhanetska and Chervonohryhorivka communities, Mykola Lukashuk, head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Council, said.
Zelensky: Ukraine has liberated 1,888 settlements since Feb. 24. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that almost as many towns and villages remain under Russian occupation.
Maria Avdeeva reports that “just a few days ago police warned us how dangerously mined is Kherson region. And now this terrible news. Eight policemen exploded on a cascade of mines near Fedorivka. Four killed and four heavily injured. All so young.”
ISW: Putin setting conditions for 'protracted war of conquest' in Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is not planning on ending the war any time soon as Russia continues to seek the conquest of additional Ukrainian territory, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update.
UK Defense Ministry: Russia starts digging trenches along border with Ukraine. “This probably illustrates some Russia decision-makers’ genuine (but false) belief that there is a credible threat of invasion by Ukrainian forces,” the defense ministry's update reads.
Naftogaz: Russian attacks damage 350 gas facilities. Oleksiy Chernyshov, CEO of Ukraine's oil and gas monopoly Naftogaz, said that recent Russian attacks had damaged 350 natural gas facilities with the loss of gas production capacity of around $700 million.
Putin says war in Ukraine could last for a long time. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said Russia's war against Ukraine could go on for a long time but that there was no reason for further military mobilization, Reuters reported.
Mykola Volyk, known as a collaborator from Melitopol and head the office of the Socialist Party was blown up in his car. After Russia’s occupation, he became an active accomplice of the Russian occupation administration. He is now in the hospital in critical conditions.
Lukashenko: a document regarding Lukashenko’s recruitment as the KGB agent ‘Valet’ circulated on various Telegram channels yesterday. InfoNapalm had revealed this news some time ago. Charter97 reports: “In 1987, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko was recruited into the State Security Committee (KGB) of the USSR as an agent under the pseudonym "Valet". His tasks included "the solution of counter-intelligence tasks in the Shklovsky District of the Mogilev Region."
Andrey Yakunin - son of the powerful Russian oligarch Vladimir - has been acquitted by the Norwegian. Yakunin, who has Russian and British citizenship, was accused of flying a drone in Norway, which is prohibited to Russian citizens due to sanctions. In court, he said that he was not aware of the ban and considered himself mostly associated with the UK, not Russia. “The Court considers that EU sanctions against aviation are intended to affect general aviation with manned aircraft. This also applies to unmanned aerial vehicles, which must be registered and subject to other air traffic regulations. Small drones, as in this case, are not subject to the sanctions rules, ”the court writes in the ruling.” This decision by the Court is now under appeal.
In his evening address, President Zelensky said Wednesday he looked forward to “peacetime” for his country next year, while his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin warned the war could drag on. “The Ukrainian military, who protects us all on their battlefields, are No. 1,” he added, thanking “all our friends in Europe who help us maintain stability” and “help millions live through this terrible time.”
Stoltenberg says Ukraine has right to defend itself as Russia accuses Ukraine of striking its territory. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russian missile attacks on critical infrastructure. “What we see is that Ukraine is defending itself. And we need to understand this in the wider context. We see daily attacks by Russia on Ukrainian cities, on critical infrastructure,” Stoltenberg said.
EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell: "The EU lacks critical capabilities in the defense sector. Capabilities depend on the level of threat and the scenario has changed since the war in Ukraine. We are facing real threats, whether we like it or not, and they will probably get worse."
EU outlines proposals on ninth package of sanctions against Russia. “Russia continues to bring death and devastation to Ukraine. It is deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, seeking to paralyze the country at the beginning of the winter. We stand by Ukraine, and we are making Russia pay for its cruelty,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
US lawmakers agree to provide additional $800 million in defense aid for Ukraine. The U.S. lawmakers agreed to pass the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDDA), which authorizes an additional $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine – an increase of $500 million over U.S. President Joe Biden’s request earlier this year, Reuters reported.
Official: France’s Supreme Court upholds International Court of Arbitration decision to recover $1.1 billion from Russia in favor of Ukraine. The French Supreme Court upheld the decision of the International Court of Arbitration to recover $1.1 billion from Russia in favor of the state-owned Oschadbank for the assets lost in Russian-occupied Crimea, Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra said.
Many Ukrainians fleeing the war have sought refuge in nearby Bulgaria. But critics say the government's support for refugees has been chaotic and insubstantial, meaning that highly skilled workers and professionals have no other options but to take menial work.
Uzbekistan Energy Minister knocks back Russian proposal for a “gas union" "If we import gas from another country, we cooperate only based on a commercial, sales contract. We will never agree to political conditions in exchange for gas."
Zelensky tops Politico’s ‘most influential people in Europe' list. President Volodymyr Zelensky was named Politico’s most influential person in Europe of the year on Dec. 7 in recognition of his leadership amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Commission presidential elections in 18 months: as per Politico, there are two potential candidates. At Politico’s P28 Gala last night, they asked Commissioner Thierry Breton and Parliament President Roberta Metsola about their ambitions for the top job, and both confirmed their interest in the candidacy for the spot.
Austria and the Netherlands voted this afternoon against the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area.
The president of Peru was ousted by Congress and arrested on a charge of rebellion Wednesday after he sought to dissolve the legislative body and take unilateral control of the government, triggering a grave constitutional crisis. Vice President Dina Boluarte replaced Pedro Castillo and became the first female leader in the history of the republic after hours of wrangling between the legislature and the departing president, who had tried to prevent an impeachment vote.
NOTEWORTHY: Brittney Griner has been released from Russian detention in a prisoner swap for the convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout. Known as “the merchant of death”, Bout was one of the world’s most wanted men before his 2008 arrest on multiple charges related to arms trafficking, and also known in intelligence circles as a GRU agent.
Mazepin’s Yacht- Jacopo Iacoboni
This is the sad little story of a Russian oligarch's yacht, which had been seized in Sardinia and disappeared, unbelievably. The yacht is called Aldabra, the oligarch is Dmitry Mazepin.
The yacht was docked at the port of Olbia (Russian oligarchs hate Europe but love Italy very much!), and had been frozen by the Draghi government, along with the luxurious villa Rocky Ram, in Costa Smeralda. This summer, after the Draghi government fell, the yacht disappeared from Italy.
Italian financial police have recently determined that the Aldabra left Italy illegally, and made a stopover in Tunisia, passing through the port of Bizerte.
The yacht's whereabouts are currently unknown (transponder off, of course), but in recent days the captain, the boat's owner company, and Mazepin himself have been served with fines.
But for someone like Mazepin, is a small 500,000 euro fine really a problem?
What needs to be clarified is who helped him evade the sanctions, and get out of Italy? An Italian enabler, the Italian captain of the yacht - claims the financial police.
Ukrainian Women Fight for Their Own Liberation- NYT
While registering for military service is compulsory for men, women can choose to volunteer. After the invasion, many did so, and almost 60,000 women are now in the Ukrainian armed forces, sometimes filling combat roles.
“I won’t be in an office somewhere,” said Liliia Fedorenko, 45, who signed up on the morning of the invasion. “I’ll be in the trenches, shooting, doing reconnaissance.”
“I’m a good shot,” she added.
The determination of Ukrainian women to fight Russians, or spy on them from behind enemy lines or raise money for the troops reflects an unflinching determination of Ukrainians, male and female alike, to sacrifice for their country. At a time when the United States is so divided, Ukraine feels the opposite: There is a passionate, uplifting, leveling unity here, and it’s one reason Vladimir Putin may be in trouble.
Edward Lucas, Liberty, Equality, Vanity- CEPA
Who is briefing Emmanuel Macron? The formidably cerebral French president benefits from his country’s equally formidable diplomatic and intelligence services. So why does he say such stupid things? In remarks broadcast this weekend, he advocated Western security guarantees to Russia as part of a future peace deal. Speaking about Europe’s future security architecture, he added that “one of the essential points we must address — as President Putin has always said — is the fear that NATO comes right up to its doors and the deployment of weapons that could threaten Russia.”
Soldatov & Borogan, Putin’s Warriors- The Financial Times
How the Kremlin Has Co-opted Its Critics and Militarized the Home Front
On October 8, Putin finally acted. In a major shift, he reorganized Russia’s chain of command, appointing Sergei Surovikin as the overall head of Russian forces in Ukraine. On paper, Surovikin is an unlikely choice: his thuggish record includes seven months in prison for his involvement in the failed coup d’état of 1991 and criminal charges for weapons smuggling, as well as accusations that he beat up a colleague. But Surovikin has one thing in his favor: the Telegram warriors approve of him. As soon as the announcement was made, veterans and military correspondents praised his appointment; Kadyrov and Prigozhin also supported him. Only Strelkov kept his critical stance, reminding his subscribers of Surovikin’s checkered career. Such was the change of tone on Telegram that when Ukrainian forces humiliated Russia by bombing the bridge to Crimea, a vital Russian supply route, the voenkors were largely silent and Strelkov accused them of turning into Kremlin propagandists.
Heroes across the world…
EuroFile has paid little attention to the protests and events in Iran. Please consult Scott Lucas’s authoritative EA Worldview for news from Iran.
Programming note:
