Ukraine Ignores Russian Orthodox Church, Observes December 25 as Public Holiday

Dec 26, 2023 | Today marks the first time that Ukraine is observing Christmas as a public holiday on December 25th. Traditionally, Ukrainians celebrated Christmas on January 7th in line with the Russian Orthodox Church, following the Julian calendar. It's part of a cultural shift away from Moscow after last year's invasion.

Anne Applebaum: Orbán Evidence of What a Determined, Anti-democratic Figure Can Do

Dec 19, 2023 | The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum discusses Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán blocking the EU's plan for further aid to Ukraine.

Orbán should be kicked out of the EU. Hungarians belong in the EU, but not under Orbán’s leadership. Orbán is one of Putin’s stooges. – © Mark Alexander

UE : Frieden a fait face au dissident Orban

LE QUOTIDIEN: Quelques heures à peine après la décision «historique» de s’ouvrir à l’Ukraine, prise sans la Hongrie, Viktor Orban est venu bloquer le paquet financier de 50 milliards d’euros destiné à Kiev. Le Premier ministre luxembourgeois connaît désormais l’enfant terrible du Conseil européen, qui agit seul contre tous.

Pour sa grande première au Conseil européen, réunissant les 27 chefs d’État et de gouvernement de l’UE, le nouveau Premier ministre luxembourgeois n’a pas eu le temps de tergiverser. «Ce fut un sommet particulier, parce que l’on était amenés à prendre une décision stratégique très importante, qui va trouver place dans les livres d’histoire», avance Luc Frieden, au bout de deux jours et demi d’intenses tractations à Bruxelles, lancées dès mercredi soir lors du sommet avec les Balkans occidentaux.

La décision «historique» est bien la validation de l’ouverture de négociations d’adhésion avec l’Ukraine, mais aussi avec la Moldavie. Les circonstances dans lesquelles ce feu vert a été accordé vont aussi marquer l’histoire européenne. Sur proposition du chancelier allemand, Olaf Scholz, le Premier ministre hongrois, Viktor Orban, a en effet quitté la salle du Conseil pour libérer la voie à un consensus qualifié par Luc Frieden de «leçon pour Poutine» et d’un message «pour montrer que nous ne laissons pas l’Ukraine seule». » | De David Marques | samedi 16 décembre 2023

Russland intensiviert Angriffe: Wie lang kann Ukraine noch standhalten? | ZDFheute live

Dec 16, 2023 | Russland greift die Ukraine seit Tagen mit Raketen und Kampfdrohnen intensiv aus der Luft an. Kann die Ukraine den russischen Angriffen weiter standhalten? Wie steht es um die stockenden Militär-Hilfen? Darüber spricht ZDFheute live mit dem Militärökonomen Marcus Keupp.

Der Westen bekomme seine Sicherheit zu einem sehr, sehr günstigen Preis, sagt Marcus Keupp. Sollten die Hilfen ausfallen, bestünde die "größtmöglichen Bedrohung Westeuropas".

Steve Forbes: If We Lose Ukraine, We Are On Our Way to a Global Catastrophe

Dec 15, 2023 | Steve Forbes warns that the US's inability to punctually fund aid to Ukraine is a testament to the dangerous fecklessness of our foreign policy; and warns both President Biden and Republicans to stop playing games and help stop the threat of totalitarianism.

Putin Makes Emboldened Speech - as EU Opens Ukraine Accession Talks | Russia-Ukraine War

Dec 14, 2023 | EU leaders have agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova. Hungary's prime minister - Putin ally Viktor Orban - wasn't in the room when the EU voted and said he did not wish to participate in the "bad decision".

Hungary Blocks €50bn of EU Funding for Ukraine | BBC News

Dec 15, 2023 | Hungary has blocked €50bn ($55bn; £43bn) in EU aid for Ukraine - just hours after an agreement was reached on starting membership talks.

"Summary of the nightshift: veto for the extra money to Ukraine," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after Thursday's talks in Brussels. EU leaders said the aid negotiations would resume early next year.

The aid blocking was announced by Mr Orbán shortly after the EU leaders decided to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova and to grant candidate status to Georgia.

Hungary - which maintains close ties with Russia - has long opposed membership for Ukraine but did not veto that move.


Hungary blocks €50bn in EU aid for Ukraine hours after membership talks approved: Viktor Orbán says extra money to Kyiv had been vetoed but talks would resume in the new year »

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy in Last-ditch US Tour to Plead for $61bn Aid – BBC News

Dec 12, 2023 | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Washington DC to try and save a $61bn (£48.5bn) US defence package for Kyiv. Republican members of Congress have stalled the aid package and have argued that more should be done to strengthen the US-Mexico border.

Zelenskyy will meet behind closed doors with various senators as well as the new House Speaker, Mike Johnson, to plead his case. The Ukrainian president will also meet with President Joe Biden, who has urged US lawmakers to approve the funds as soon as possible.


This has Trump written all over it! Those Republicans must be off their rockers! Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians are doing the West’s dirty work – he and his people are fighting for the maintenance of the freedom of the West. If the US in particular and the West in general let Zelenskyy and his people down, the war will in all probability be won by Putin, with all the ramifications that will follow. This is insanity! – © Mark Alexander

IMF Approves $900m Loan Payment for Ukraine – BBC News

Dec 12, 2023 | Ukraine's President Zelensky is due to meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday as part of a critical visit to help secure US military aid. Zelensky has called on Congress to overcome its delays which he said were a "dream come true" for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He's also been meeting with the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, after the IMF approved a $900m payment for Ukraine as part of its more than $15bn loan programme. The IMF also upgraded its growth forecasts for Ukraine predicting the economy would grow by 4.5% this year.

Ukraine Fears for Financial Support from the EU and the USA | DW News

Dec 12, 2023 | Ukraine's fears are growing that foreign aid and arms supplies will soon be a thing of the past. This week, high-level EU talks in Brussels could decide the fate of the promised €50 billion in aid to Kyiv and additional money for new arms deliveries.On Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a stopover in Washington. There, the opposition US Republicans are blocking an aid package for Kiev worth 61 billion dollars.In the face of these difficult negotiations, an end to the war looks increasingly distant. What is the psychological impact of this protracted conflict on Ukraine?

US Will ‘Lose Face before World’ If It Abandons Kyiv, Says Ex-Ukraine President

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Leonid Kuchma describes history behind Putin’s attack as new edition of his 2003 book Ukraine Is Not Russia is published

Ukraine’s former president Leonid Kuchma has warned that the US “will lose face before the entire world” if it abandons Kyiv, and said mistakes by the west contributed to Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion last year.

In his first interview with a western publication since 2015, Kuchma described Putin as a career KGB operative. “It’s his profession, with everything that implies,” he said, adding: “People say his obsession with Ukraine is a kind of mania or mental disorder. Maybe it’s true.” » | Luke Harding in Kyiv | Monday, December 11, 2023

Republican senator says Ukraine may have to cede land to Russia to end war: JD Vance, one of GOP lawmakers who voted to block Ukraine aid package, asks ‘what $61bn would accomplish that $100bn hasn’t’ »

Senate Republicans block funding bill that included aid for Ukraine and Israel: Congress unlikely to approve more funding for Ukraine before end of year after GOP demanded stricter border regulations »

David Cameron on the Importance of Standing with Ukraine

Dec 7, 2023 | UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron joins Morning Joe to discuss meeting with Secretary of State Blinken and congressional leadership on the importance of Ukraine support and the Israel-Hamas war.

Bill Browder Exposes Robert Jenrick’s Brexit Tricks as Nonsense, Speaks of Ukraine

Dec 10, 2023 | Robert Jenrick says he will always put the national interest first when in truth he’s merely making a play for the leadership of the Tory Party and putting us all at risk.

How Ukraine Plans to Stop Speaking Russian

Dec 7, 2023

US Senate Republicans Block Military Aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan | DW News

Dec 7, 2023 | US Republican senators have blocked a bill aimed at providing billions of dollars of military aid to Ukraine and Israel. They insist that any aid to Ukraine must be tied to stronger policies to control immigration across the border with Mexico. The result of the vote will send the lawmakers back to the negotiating table. President Joe Biden has signaled he's prepared to make compromises to get the aid approved.

En direct, guerre en Ukraine : Kiev a subi cette nuit « l’attaque de drones russes la plus massive » depuis le début du conflit, selon les autorités ukrainiennes

LE MONDE : L’armée de l’air ukrainienne et le président, Volodymyr Zelensky, ont dénoncé l’envoi de plus 70 engins lancés du territoire russe. « La majorité des drones ont été abattus, mais pas tous », a précisé M. Zelensky. Au moins cinq personnes ont été blessées, selon le maire de la capitale. LIVE EN COURS » | samedi 25 novembre 2023

EU-Kommission empfiehlt Beitrittsgespräche mit Ukraine

Nov 8, 2023 | Sobald die Regierung in Kiew die letzten Bedingungen erfüllt habe, sollten die Verhandlungen um den EU-Beitritt der Ukraine beginnen, heißt es im Fortschrittsbericht der Brüsseler Behörde. Ein ähnliches Zeugnis stellt sie der Republik Moldau aus. © REUTERS, EPA

EU-Kommission empfiehlt Beitrittsverhandlungen mit der Ukraine: Die EU-Kommission befürwortet die Aufnahme von Beitrittsverhandlungen mit der Ukraine. Vor der ersten Gesprächsrunde soll das Land allerdings begonnene Reformen abschließen. »

Alle anderen Länder Europas wollen unbedingt der EU beitreten, nur die Tories in Großbritannien und ihre gleichgesinnten Brexiteers nicht. Sie glauben, daß sie internationales Geschäft zauberhaft erschaffen können, ohne in einem großen Markt mit hunderten Millionen Konsumenten teilzunehmen! – © Mark Alexander

The Observer View on the War in Ukraine: The West Can’t Afford to Forget about It

THE OBSERVER – EDITORIAL: Volodymyr Zelenskiy is in dire need of support as his counteroffensive against Russia stalls and the risk of stalemate looms

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits an artillery training centre aat an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters
Recent events in the Middle East have drawn international political and media attention away from the war in Ukraine at what looks like a critical juncture. This is understandable but nonetheless alarming. The principal beneficiary of this loss of focus is Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, who ordered an illegal, unprovoked full-scale invasion in February last year that has caused more than 27,000 civilian casualties and appalling destruction. The UN believes that the true casualty figure is “considerably higher”. Putin has been accused of war crimes by the international criminal court.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and his western backers were optimistic earlier this year that Russian ground forces, badly led and often poorly equipped, could be ejected from occupied territory in eastern and southern Ukraine. But a much anticipated counteroffensive, using tanks, missiles and other modern weapons supplied by Nato states, was delayed. When it finally began five months ago, progress was disappointing, obstructed by minefields and entrenched Russian defences. There was no breakthrough. » | Observer editorial | Saturday, November 4, 2023

AUF DEUTSCH:

Von der Leyen: „Über 90 Prozent des Wegs“ zu EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen geschafft: „Dies ist das Ergebnis harter Arbeit.“ In Kiew lobt die EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Reformen in der Ukraine. Der Kampf gegen Korruption sei auch im eigenen Interesse seines Landes, betont Präsident Selenskyj. »

Pro-Moscow Ukrainian Politician Shot in Apparent Assassination Attempt

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Oleg Tsaryov, who had been tipped to lead a puppet government after Russia’s 2022 invasion, is in a critical condition

Oleg Tsaryov is in intensive care after being shot by an unknown assailant, his associates have said. Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
A Ukrainian politician once said to have been considered for leader of a Kremlin-controlled puppet government in Ukraine is in a critical condition after he was shot twice in an apparent assassination attempt at a sanatorium in Crimea.

Oleg Tsaryov, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian figure who played a prominent political role in the 2014 war against the Kyiv government, was shot twice by an unknown assailant, his associates have confirmed.

“Oleg is fighting for his life. After the attempt on his life tonight, Oleg lost a lot of blood,” wrote Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, which is under Moscow’s partial control. » | Andrew Roth | Friday, October 27, 2023

Retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges Says Russia Is an Existential Threat to US and Europe | #shorts

The retired general talks of the value Americans are getting for their tax dollars.