Russia
🇺🇦 Zelenskiy rejects UN Secretary-General Guterres’s Kyiv visit after his appearance with Putin at Russia’s BRICS summit. Ukraine calls Guterres’s decision a betrayal of UN values, casting doubt on the UN’s neutrality as the war’s toll mounts.
🇰🇵🇷🇺 North Korea’s attempt to legitimize sending troops to aid Russia’s war in Ukraine is a brazen disregard for international law. Pyongyang has no moral ground to declare what’s lawful, and its growing alliance with Moscow only deepens their shared defiance of global norms.
🇰🇵🇷🇺 The U.S., South Korea, and Japan express deep alarm over North Korean troops stationed in Russia to join the fight in Ukraine. This brazen alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang widens the war beyond Europe, defying global sanctions as troops and weapons mobilize to fuel Putin’s vanity conflict.
🇺🇦 Russian drones hit a Kyiv high-rise, igniting the top floors and forcing desperate evacuations. Moscow’s brazen attack on civilian homes shows the relentless peril facing Ukraine’s cities as residents endure escalating strikes aimed at terrorizing urban life.
🇷🇺 The WSJ: Elon Musk’s Secret Conversations With Vladimir Putin
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a linchpin of U.S. space efforts, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022. The discussions, confirmed by several current and former U.S., European and Russian officials, touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions. At one point, Putin asked the billionaire to avoid activating his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request.
The grand irony of 2024’s political theater is watching Elon Musk – who bought Twitter for $44 billion in the name of “free speech absolutism” – engaging in private tête-à-têtes with Vladimir Putin, a man whose regime has perfected the art of making journalists and opposition leaders mysteriously fall out of windows.
🇷🇺 Putin dodges but does not deny U.S. claims of 3,000 North Korean troops in Russia, citing mutual defense clause with Pyongyang as “our business.” Putin welcomes Trump’s rhetoric of “peace” (at Ukraine’s expense) and accuses NATO of escalating a war that Russia started.
🇷🇺 BRICS flexes growing muscle at Putin-hosted Kazan summit, drawing UN chief and NATO’s Turkey as potential member. While far from challenging IMF or dollar dominance, the bloc’s expansion signals shifting global power as developing nations seek alternatives to Western-led systems.
🇰🇵 The U.S. reports evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia, possibly for deployment in Ukraine, an escalation in the conflict. South Korea claims North Korea plans to send a total of 10,000 troops. U.S. officials warn of consequences if NK troops join Russia in combat.
🇸🇩 A plane downed in Sudan’s North Darfur, reportedly crewed by Russians, was supplying the army with weapons, according to the opposing Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The incident reveals the complex supply chains fueling Sudan’s 18-month conflict, with foreign powers manipulating the war.
🇬🇪 In a disturbing pre-election rally, Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili vows to crush opposition parties if his party wins, accusing them of “war crimes.” With the election seen as a battle between pro-Western values and Russian influence, authoritarianism looms large.
🇧🇾 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warns that deploying foreign troops in the Ukraine conflict would lead to escalation. In interviews, he dismissed claims of North Korean troops joining Russia and reaffirmed use of Russian nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus would require his consent.
🇺🇸 The U.S. aims to provide Ukraine with $10 billion in military aid, part of a $20 billion loan package coordinated with the G7 and EU. Funded by interest on frozen Russian assets, the aid package balances military and economic support, but hinges on Congress’ approval before December.
🇫🇮 Finnish President calls North Korea’s reported troop deployment to Ukraine a sign of Russian “desperation”, citing Moscow’s reliance on Iranian weapons and NK soldiers as evidence of isolation ahead of his China visit.
🇺🇸 Yellen: US to lead $50B Ukraine aid package with $20B contribution, funded by frozen Russian assets, not taxpayers. G7 racing to finalize deal before US election as new sanctions against Russia’s war suppliers loom.
🇦🇹 Austrian president snubs far-right FPO despite election win, tasks center-right Nehammer to form govt instead. Pro-Russia FPO leader Kickl warns against ‘coalition of losers’ as unprecedented three-party alliance looms.
🇺🇸 US intel warns Russia, China, and Iran plot to inflame post-election chaos with AI-generated disinfo and potential violence, as Harris leads Trump 46-43% in latest poll. Foreign actors seen targeting swing states through sophisticated social media ops.
🇺🇦 Zelenskiy warns of 12,000 North Korean troops potentially joining Russia’s war effort, urges Western allies to stop “hiding” and confront this alarming escalation as UK confirms hundreds of NK soldiers likely already deployed.
🇬🇪 From his shark-tank mansion atop Tbilisi, enigmatic billionaire Ivanishvili – Georgia’s most powerful figure – warns voters that siding with the West could spark Russian conflict, while critics accuse him of turning the nation into his private fiefdom.
🇺🇸 U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv, pledging $400 million in new arms for Ukraine just weeks before the U.S. presidential election. Despite uncertainty over future support, Austin reaffirmed bipartisan backing for Ukraine, warning that failing to resist Putin risks tyranny.
🇲🇩 Moldova’s President Maia Sandu declared a hard-fought victory after a narrow 50.46% win in the EU accession referendum, despite allegations of Russia-backed meddling. Sandu, calling it an “unfair fight,” accused foreign forces of undermining the vote. A presidential runoff looms.