Ukraine
🇨🇭 Swiss President Viola Amherd pushes to overturn the nation’s ban on re-exporting arms to Ukraine, warning that the current policy damages Switzerland’s defense industry and security interests. The traditionally neutral state faces mounting pressure to adapt.
🇺🇦 Australian mercenary in Ukraine warns of dire escalation as Russia makes critical gains, North Korean troops join the fight, and Ukraine’s key city Pokrovsk faces encirclement. With Western aid uncertain, fighter says “Ukraine won’t exist… not as we know it.”
🇷🇺 Putin warns West against helping Ukraine strike deep into Russia, signaling potential major escalation as Russian forces advance in Donetsk. Russia’s changed nuclear doctrine and NATO involvement could transform this regional conflict into a global showdown.
🇰🇷 South Korea rushes to NATO to brief on 12,000 North Korean troops deployed to Russia, as Putin brazenly defends military alliance with Kim Jong Un - marking dramatic escalation in Ukraine war’s global reach.
🇺🇦 Ukraine’s bid to blacklist Russia at FATF was blocked by China, India, and others, despite Kyiv’s warning that Moscow threatens global financial security. Ukraine called out Russia’s ties to sanctioned states like Iran and North Korea, but key nations opted for more evidence over immediate action.
🇺🇦 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.
🇷🇺 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.
🇰🇵 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.
🇧🇾 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.
🇺🇦 Ukraine’s top prosecutor Kostin resigns over scandal revealing dozens of officials, including 61 prosecutors, allegedly faked disabilities to dodge military draft, prompting Zelenskiy to demand urgent reform of medical assessment system.
🇺🇸 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.
🇷🇸 In a rare call, Serbia’s Vucic thanks Putin for ensuring winter gas supplies, reaffirming close ties despite EU pressure. Serbia maintains its refusal to sanction Russia over Ukraine, hiding behind a “delicate balancing act” between East and West.
🇺🇦 Russian missiles slam Zelenskiy’s hometown Kryvyi Rih, wounding 17 and ravaging buildings. Ukraine claims to have shot down 31 of 49 Russian drones in brutal overnight assault. Attack exposes Russia’s relentless targeting of civilians, despite Kremlin denials, as urban devastation mounts.
🇷🇺 Russian official admits Ukraine attacks forced Black Sea Fleet to relocate from Sevastopol, the first acknowledgment of Ukraine’s successful campaign to disrupt Russian naval operations. Dmitry Rogozin highlights Russia’s drone technology lag, calls for urgent military-tech revolution.