News Feed

4:09 AM

Ukrainian ransomware group dismantled by law enforcement.

Judicial and law enforcement authorities from seven countries have dismantled a Ukrainian ransomware group, seizing hundreds of digital equipment in the process, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) announced in a statement on Nov. 28.

2:26 AM

Russia shells Sumy Oblast, injuring 1.

Russian forces attacked six communities along the Sumy Oblast border on Nov. 30, firing 24 times over the course of the day and injuring one civilian, the Sumy Oblast military administration reported.

2:07 AM

Reuters: SBU targets rail line in Siberia.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) allegedly detonated explosives on a Russian military supply rail line in Siberia, an unnamed Ukrainian source told Reuters on Nov. 30.

1:58 AM

Minister: Russian forces kill 2000 Ukrainian civilians in 2023.

More than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 11,000 injured as a result of Russian shelling in 2023, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on Nov. 30.

1:33 AM

US Senate introduces bill to confiscate assets of Russian oligarchs.

U.S. Senators introduced a bipartisan bill on Nov. 28 aimed at confiscating assets of Russian oligarchs to be used towards the reconstruction of Ukraine.

1:16 AM

Zelensky: No Peace summit until 2024.

During a call with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that there would be no Peace Formula Summit until early 2024, the President's office wrote in the readout of the conversation on Nov. 30.

12:54 AM

Court seizes over $1 million in crypto assets from former state communications head.

Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has ordered the seizure of cryptocurrencies totaling $1.5 million from Yurii Shchyhol, the former head of the State Special Communications Service, the court announced on Nov. 30.

12:32 AM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky visits Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia oblasts as harsh winter looms on front line

12:06 AM

Norway announces $23 million for Ukraine's food security.

Norway will donate 250 million Norwegian kroner (around $23 million) to Ukraine's food security under the five-year support program known as Nansen, the Norwegian government announced on Nov. 30.

11:05 PM

Zelensky travels to Zaporizhzhia, holds meeting on fortifications.

During his work trip to Zaporizhzhia, President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting on building fortifications "on main defensive lines" and in regions bordering Russia and Belarus, the President's Office reported on Nov. 30.

10:03 PM

Russian attacks on Donetsk, Kherson oblasts kill 3, injure 12.

Russian forces struck multiple settlements in Kherson and Donetsk oblasts on Nov. 30, killing three people and wounding another 12, the regional authorities reported.

9:37 PM

Opinion

Opinion: Poland's democratic rebirth pains

9:15 PM

Ombudsman confirms first case of Russian citizen changing identity of illegally adopted Ukrainian child.

Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets confirmed media reports revealing that a Russian lawmaker's family had illegally adopted a Ukrainian child abducted from a children's home in Kherson and changed her identity.

8:17 PM

Bloomberg: EU to announce plans to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's reconstruction.

The EU is likely to announce a proposal to use the tax profits from frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction in the coming weeks, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 30.

7:08 PM

Fico: Slovakia should prepare for normalization of relations with Russia.

Slovakia should prepare for "the end of the war in Ukraine and for the standardization of Slovak-Russian relations," Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Nov. 30.

7:04 PM

Zelensky, Umerov visit military command post in Kupiansk.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov visited a military command post in Kharkiv Oblast's Kupiansk amid Russia's ongoing offensive against the northeastern city, the Presidential Office reported on Nov. 30.

6:45 PM

Ukrainian military intelligence reportedly broadcast Zelensky speech in Crimea.

The Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) orchestrated the hacking of television channels in Crimea to broadcast a speech by President Volodymyr Zelensky on the evening of Nov. 29, multiple Ukrainian media outlets reported on Nov. 30.

6:02 PM

Update: Russian missile strike on Donetsk Oblast kills 2.

The death toll of Russia’s overnight missile strike against the town of Novohrodivka in Donetsk Oblast has risen to two, the Interior Ministry reported on Nov. 30.

5:34 PM

Von der Leyen: 480,000 EU-made shells delivered or on way to Ukraine.

As part of the European Union’s ammunition procurement program, 480,000 artillery shells “have been either delivered (to Ukraine) or are on the pipeline,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Nov. 30.

5:29 PM

Media: European arms industry calls for 'orders, not just targets'.

The European defense industry is calling for more firm "orders, not just targets," Reuters reported on Nov. 30, citing the European Aerospace, Security, and Defense Industries lobby group ASD.

4:07 PM

US assistance to Ukraine

Despite Republican hesitance on Ukraine aid, red states reap economic benefits

3:35 PM

Russia's Supreme Court declares 'LGBT movement' an 'extremist organization'.

It is not clear what precisely the court means by the "international LGBT movement" and if the newly announced ban applies to any specific organizations or the entire LGBT community, including those who are not affiliated with any group.

3:18 PM

Ukraine designates Belgian gas company Fluxys as 'international sponsor of war'.

Belgian gas company Fluxys has been added to the list of "international sponsors of war" for its involvement in the Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade, Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) announced on Nov. 30.

2:47 PM

OSCE Skopje summit starts amid disputes over Lavrov's presence.

The two-day ministerial summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in North Macedonia's Skopje began on Nov. 30 amid controversies regarding the presence of the Russian delegation.

2:19 PM

Media: SBU set off explosion in railway tunnel in Russia's Far East.

An explosion on a key railway line in Russia's far eastern republic of Buryatia was the result of an operation of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), Ukrainska Pravda reported on Nov. 30, citing an unnamed source in the security service.

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Media: Putin may soon announce he will run for president in 2024

by Nate Ostiller and The Kyiv Independent news desk October 3, 2023 1:56 PM 2 min read

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on Sept. 14, 2023. (Photo by Mikhail Metzel /POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

This audio is created with AI assistance

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may soon announce that he will run for president again in 2024, the Russian state-controlled newspaper Kommersant wrote on Oct. 3.

The potential announcement would likely occur during the opening of the international "Russia" exhibition in November. The exhibition is intended to showcase Putin's achievements, as well as presentations of illegally-annexed territories of Ukraine.

Although he has yet to officially announce, unnamed sources told Kommersant that the campaign will be built around the concept of Russia as a separate civilization, based on traditional values, that is beset on all sides by enemies.

It is unclear if other candidates will nominally participate, but if Putin decides to run, his victory is all but assured. Freedom House, a nonprofit advocating international democracy, gave Russia a 0/4 score in its 2022 report card on political freedoms in the country. "Russia has never experienced a democratic transfer of power between rival groups," described Freedom House. Any meaningful opposition is prevented from having a fair chance at winning elections, creating "an authoritarian political system (that) is concentrated in the hands of President Vladimir Putin."

On Sept. 11, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin would have no real competitors if he decided to run.

If reelected, Putin could serve another six-year term, which would keep him in power until 2030, 30 years since he was first elected president. In 2021, Russia passed a law that would enable Putin to retain his position until 2036. There is nothing necessarily stopping him from further revising the law to allow for more terms.

Authors: Nate Ostiller, The Kyiv Independent news desk

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