Friday, December 8

Russia’s war against Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Jewish leaders in Kyiv on the first day of Hanukkah. (Office of the President of Ukraine)

Study: Aid for Ukraine drops to lowest level since January 2022. Between August and October, the amount of newly committed aid to Ukraine decreased by 87% compared to the same period last year, according to a new study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

US domestic political turmoil threatens to undermine support for Ukraine. The Republican party has increasingly soured on continuing to support Ukraine, often citing economic reasons. However, what ultimately doomed the Dec. 6 vote was the mixing of U.S. aid to Ukraine with other political issues, namely domestic border security and the U.S. aid for longtime ally Israel.

Zelensky congratulates Jewish leaders on first day of Hanukkah. “This holiday is about the victory of the human spirit. And that’s the most important. I wish all of you, us, and everyone who is always on the side of light, on the side of Ukraine and its people, on the side of life - Happy Hanukkah and victory,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky imposes new sanctions against Russians, including Chechen battalion’s commander. President Volodymyr Zelensky implemented on Dec. 7 the decision by the National Security and Defense Council to sanction over 300 Russian and Moscow-linked individuals and companies.

Russian occupation authorities in Nova Kakhovka announce ‘evacuation’ of civilians. “The evacuation is being carried out because the settlements of the Nova Kakhovka district are located within the 15-kilometer combat zone on the east bank of the Dnipro River,” the occupation administration said on Telegram.

Prosecutors: Russian soldier who kidnapped teenager sentenced to 12 years in prison. According to the prosecutors, the soldier kidnapped the boy during the Russian offensive near Chernihiv and held him hostage for four days to try and force his mother, a Ukrainian soldier, to divulge the location of Ukrainian troops in the area.

Ukrainian Railways transports record amount of cargo since start of full-scale war. Throughout November, Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) transported 14 million tons of cargo, a 33.8% increase compared to the same period last year, the Infrastructure Ministry reported on Dec. 7.

Energy Ministry: Russian attack on front-line power plant causes energy deficit. Russian troops struck a thermal power plant in one of Ukraine’s front-line regions on Dec. 7, causing a shutdown of two power units, the Energy Ministry reported.

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Ukraine prepared to begin transporting trucks stuck at Polish border by train. “As soon as this test train passes and everything is fine, we will launch it en masse,” said Valerii Tkachov, deputy director of commercial work for Ukraine’s state-owned railway, Ukrzaliznytsia.

Media: Zelensky to attend inauguration of incoming Argentine President Milei. Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian lawmaker, won Argentina’s presidential election on Nov. 19 after a campaign in which he said he would seek to reduce ties to Russia and China, among other policy views that represented a break from the outgoing President Alberto Fernandez.

Media: Medvedchuk’s pro-Russian movement opens branch in Serbia. The Serbian branch of exiled Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk’s organization is headed by Dragan Stanojevic, a Serbian politician and public figure known for his pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian views. Stanojevic was sanctioned by Ukraine in 2021 and banned from entering the country.

Russia detains Belarusian over alleged Ukraine-orchestrated train sabotage. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a Belarusian national they claim was involved in Ukraine-orchestrated attacks on a key railway line in Russia’s far eastern republic of Buryatia the previous week, state news agency TASS reported on Dec. 7.

Read our exclusives

**In heavily shelled Kupiansk, some choose to stay despite constant risk of killing **

Some 5,500 people stubbornly refuse to leave Kupiansk, even though the Ukrainian authorities announced the obligatory evacuation of settlements in the area on Aug. 10 – nearly a year after much of Kharkiv Oblast was liberated from Russian military occupation.

Photo: Amadeusz Świerk

Ukraine war latest: Republicans block aid to Ukraine, Kirby says funds to run out before New Year

Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked a supplemental funding bill that included aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in a procedural vote held Dec. 6. The funding package includes $61 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US domestic political turmoil threatens to undermine support for Ukraine

The Republican party has increasingly soured on continuing to support Ukraine, often citing economic reasons. However, what ultimately doomed the Dec. 6 vote was mixing U.S. aid to Ukraine with other political issues, namely domestic border security problem.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Ukrainian actor Vasyl Kukharskyi dies following severe injuries on front lines. The Kyiv-based Theater on Podil announced in a Facebook statement that Ukrainian actor Vasyl Kukharskyi died on Dec. 7. Kukharskyi was 42 years old.

Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast wound 3, cause ammonia leak at factory. Roman Mrochko, head of Kherson city’s military administration, said that Russian attacks had damaged the connection to a refrigeration unit at an industrial food factory, causing an ammonia leak, which was reported as being minor and under control.

International response

Ukraine, US sign statement of intent on co-production of weapons. Ukrainian and U.S. officials signed a statement of intent on the co-production of critical weapons and data exchange between the two countries “to address the urgent needs of Ukraine’s armed forces,” the Pentagon reported.

Lithuania investigating how Abramovich’s children received citizenship, plans to amend law. Lithuania is investigating the circumstances around how relatives of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich were given Lithuanian citizenship between 2011 and 2013, the Lithuanian Interior Ministry announced on Dec. 7.

US, UK sanction Russian FSB agent, accomplice involved in multi-year cyber attacks. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions in coordination with the U.K. on Dec. 7 against two Russian nationals for their role in a wide-ranging cyber campaign against the U.S., U.K., and other Western countries.

In other news

Kyiv Independent’s investigation ‘Uprooted’ wins national media award. The Kyiv Independent’s investigative documentary “Uprooted” on Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children has won the National Investigative Journalism Competition 2023.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Elsa Court, Nate Ostiller, Toma Istomina, Dinara Khalilova, Olena Goncharova, Sonya Bandouil, and Lance Luo.

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