Friday, December 22

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Officials from Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance meet with G7 creditor nations in December, 2023. (Ministry of Finance)

Ukraine’s debt restructuring extended to March 2027. “Today’s agreement on the revision of debt obligations allows us to reduce the burden on the budget until the end of the IMF programme and save foreign currency liquidity to ensure social spending,” Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said.

Defense minister says he wants to mobilize Ukrainian men living abroad. Ukraine wants to recruit Ukrainian men living abroad for military service, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in an interview with German media outlet Die Welt on Dec. 21.

Falling debris from drone strike on Kyiv leaves residential building on fire, 2 injured. Falling debris from a Russian drone strike on Kyiv left a residential building in the Solomianskyi District on fire, Kyiv city officials reported overnight on Dec. 22.

Intelligence service claims top judicial official has Russian citizenship; he denies it, cites pressure. Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service has alleged that Roman Ihnatov, head of the High Qualification Commission, a key agency in Ukraine’s judicial system, has Russian citizenship.

NYT: White House intensifying efforts to confiscate Russian assets. The Biden administration is intensifying efforts to confiscate around $300 billion worth of Russian assets frozen in the West to ensure continued funding for Ukraine, the New York Times reported on Dec. 21.

Oscar shortlist includes Ukrainian film ‘20 Days in Mariupol’. The Ukrainian documentary “20 Days in Mariupol” has been shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards, the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Dec. 21.

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Finland announces military aid package for Ukraine worth $116 million. Details of the delivery were not made public “for operational reasons and in order to guarantee the safe delivery of the aid,” but the package takes into account “both the needs of Ukraine and the resource situation” of Finland’s Armed Forces, the Defense Ministry said.

Poroshenko’s party says he received $1 million from Hungarian Finance Ministry as interest payments. Ukraine’s former President Petro Poroshenko received $1 million from Hungary due to interest earned on foreign investments, Poroshenko’s party, European Solidarity, said in a statement on Dec. 21.

Orban claims Russian invasion of Ukraine is not war. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not a war, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed on Dec. 21 while speaking at an annual press conference in Budapest.

Ukrainian parliament votes to legalize medical cannabis. The draft law was first passed in July 2023, and proposed to license the economic activity of cultivating hemp for medical, industrial, and scientific purposes. It aims to help Ukrainian war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), people with cancer, and other serious illnesses to get pain relief and reduce other symptoms.

Abramovich loses appeal to be removed from EU sanctions list. Abramovich and other top Russian oligarchs were sanctioned after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He filed a challenge against the decision at the EU court in Brussels, saying that he had no influence over the Kremlin’s decisions and that his business interests were not connected to the war.

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Ukraine war latest: Russia advances up to 2 kilometers near Avdiivka in 2 months; 4 children injured in Kherson

Russian troops launched a mass attack against Kherson overnight on Dec. 20, hitting the southern city with drones and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

Photo: Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu via Getty Images

Dutch minister: ‘If you don’t stop Russia now, they’ll go further. It’s not just Ukraine’

Dutch Foreign Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen sat down with the Kyiv Independent to talk about how to make sure that Kyiv withstands Russia’s aggression in the long-run.

Photo: Olena Zashko / The Kyiv Independent

How Russian troops killed 3 unarmed teenagers in Ukrainian village

Over 500 Ukrainian children were killed by the Russian army after the beginning of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Illustration: Karolina Gulshani

Human cost of war

Russian strike on mines in Donetsk Oblast kills 3, injures 6. A Russian strike on two mines in Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast killed three civilians and wounded five others, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Dec. 21.  

International response

Germany announces 88.5 million euros in winter aid for Ukraine. Germany will provide Ukraine with an additional 85.5 million euros ($94 million) in aid to help the country endure the winter and withstand Russian attacks on critical infrastructure, the Foreign Ministry announced on Dec. 21.

EU sends last 1.5 billion euros of macro-financial assistance for Ukraine for 2023. The EU has sent the final tranche of 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in macro-financial assistance for 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Dec. 21.

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

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