The Dispatch

UPDATED: Russia threatens to sever ties if U.S. confiscates its assets

Russia may cut diplomatic ties with the United States if Washington confiscates Russian assets frozen over the Ukrainian war, the Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as…

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UPDATED: Mass drone attack hits several Kyiv districts

Dec 21 (Reuters) - More than two dozen Russian drones targeted Ukraine's capital early on Friday, officials said, injuring two people and damaging residential buildings in Moscow's latest overnight drone…

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Ukraine says it received last tranche of EU’s 18 bln euro aid package

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Ukraine has received the last 1.5 billion euro ($1.65 billion)tranche from the 18 billion package from the European Union for 2023, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said…

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Moldova obtains air defence radar from France’s Thales

Moldova revealed it had acquired an aerial surveillance system from French defence electronics maker Thales, a first step towards developing air defences after missile debris from the war in Ukraine…

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COP29 climate summit host Azerbaijan touts country’s gas potential

After winning a fraught bid to host next year's United Nations climate talks in Baku, a senior Azerbaijani official promoted the country's gas reserves in aiding the global the energy…

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UPDATED: Kremlin says there is no basis for peace negotiations with Ukraine

MOSCOW, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that there is no current basis for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and that Kyiv's proposed peace plan was…

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Ukraine considers proposal by army to mobilise another 500,000 for war

By Pavel Polityuk and Tom Balmforth KYIV/LONDON, (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the military had proposed mobilising 450,000-500,000 more Ukrainians into the armed forces in what would mark…

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Opposition parties reject Azerbaijan’s snap election call as undemocratic

Azerbaijan's two main opposition parties on Monday denounced the calling of a snap election, in which President Ilham Aliyev is expected to extend his 20 years in power, as undemocratic…

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Ukraine’s army chief says situation at front line is not a stalemate

Ukraine's army chief said on Monday the situation on the front line of the war against Russian forces had not reached a stalemate. General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi described the war with…

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Russia and Ukraine launch swarm of drones at each other’s territory

Ukraine and Russia launched a swarm of drones at each other's territories on Sunday as both sides step up attacks, with the Russian assault reportedly killing one person in Odesa…

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Russia to test launch seven intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2024

MOSCOW, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Russia plans to test launch seven intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2024, Sergei Karakayev, the commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces has said, the Interfax news…

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U.S. intelligence assesses Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 casualties

A declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90% of the personnel it had when the conflict began,…

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Putin to run for president as an independent candidate – RIA cites senior politicians

MOSCOW, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin will run for president again as an independent candidate with a wide support base but not on a party ticket, the state-backed RIA…

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Ukraine puts head of Russian church on “wanted” list

Ukraine's Interior Ministry on Friday placed the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, a backer of the Kremlin's 21-month-old war against Kyiv, on a wanted list after security services accused him…

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EU grants Ukraine membership talks but can’t agree financial aid

European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine even as it continues to fight Russia's invasion, but they could not agree on a 50 billion euro package of financial aid for…

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Putin press conference: Ukraine, the West and the Russian economy

Here are some highlights from Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual press conference and phone-in held in Moscow on Thursday: ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE "There will be peace when we…

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Putin tells Russians the war in Ukraine will go on unless Kyiv does a deal

By Guy Faulconbridge and Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia would press on with its war in Ukraine unless Kyiv did a…

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US officials say Russians hackers are launching potential SolarWinds-style operations

By Raphael Satter WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. officials say that Russian hackers are targeting servers hosting outdated versions of software made by the Czech tech company JetBrains for potential SolarWinds-style…

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Russia says it has downed drones over Moscow, adjacent region

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russian air defences downed two hostile drones over Moscow on Thursday morning, the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, with no casualties or damage reported. Separately, the…

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UPDATED:Zelenskiy says EU summit will not be easy, insists Ukraine fulfilled all demands

KYIV, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that the European Union summit this week would not be easy but insisted that Kyiv had fulfilled all…

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UPDATED: 53 injured as Russian ballistic missiles target Kyiv -Ukraine

By Sergiy Karazy and Valentyn Ogirenko KYIV, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russia's second missile assault on Kyiv this week injured at least 53 people, damaging homes and a children's hospital,…

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Moscow says EU will not succeed in curbing Russian gas imports

Any plan by the European Union to give its member states the power to halt gas imports from Russia will not succeed and will not damage the Russian economy, foreign…

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Georgia eyes EU candidate status but membership still a distant dream

While Ukraine's hopes of beginning membership talks will take centre-stage at this week's European Union summit, another potential member, Georgia, will also be seeking progress towards eventual entry to the…

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Zelenskiy, in Washington, says he hopes he can count on US as aid at risk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a U.S. military audience on Monday that he hoped he can still count on the United States as he started a critical visit to Washington…

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Key challenges facing Putin if he gets a new six-year term

By Mark Trevelyan Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will seek another six years in the Kremlin by standing in an election in March where his victory is widely…

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Navalny’s team says he has vanished in Russia’s prison system

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been removed from the penal colony where he had been imprisoned since the middle of last year and his current whereabouts are unknown, his…

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‘Putin is vulnerable’: Navalny camp to tap voter concerns on war and economy

Opposition sees 100-day campaign as window of opportunity Volunteers to hit voters with cold-calls and online posts Navalny camp says Putin will win but he is vulnerable By Mark Trevelyan…

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Ukraine says no green light for EU membership talks would be ‘devastating’

By Gabriela Baczynska and Andrew Gray BRUSSELS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday it would be "devastating" for Kyiv and the European Union if…

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UK to transfer two minehunters to Ukraine as it launches maritime support plan

LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it would transfer two Royal Navy minehunter ships to the Ukrainian Navy, as it sets up a new maritime defence coalition…

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Russians banned from travel to hand over passports within five days -decree

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Russians who have been banned from travelling abroad will have to hand over their passports to authorities within five days after being notified, according to a…

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When is 2024 Russian election?

Russia will hold a presidential election on March 17, 2024 at which President Vladimir Putin is going to run for another term that could keep him in power until at…

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Russia’s Putin says he will run for president again in 2024

MOSCOW, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he would run for president again in the 2024 presidential election, a move expected to keep him in…

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Ukraine says Russian forces use aviation, keep pushing on Avdiivka

Russian forces relied heavily on aerial attacks on Thursday in their slow-moving campaign to win control of eastern Ukraine and resorted to new smaller attack groups in pressing to capture…

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Armenia backs Azerbaijan to host COP29 climate conference

By Nailia Bagirova BAKU, (Reuters) - Armenia agreed not to block Azerbaijan's candidacy to host next year's COP29 U.N. climate conference as part of a series of mutual goodwill gestures…

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Putin’s spy chief tells U.S: Ukraine will become your Vietnam

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence chief told the United States on Thursday that Western support for Ukraine would turn the conflict into a "second…

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Ukraine’s latest weapons request includes THAAD air defenses and F-18s

By Mike Stone WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - Ukraine's latest list of U.S. weapons it says it needs to fight the Russian military includes sophisticated air defense systems, F-18 "Hornet" fighter jets,…

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Azerbaijan’s Aliyev calls snap presidential election for February

Dec 7 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday called an early presidential election for Feb. 7, according to a document published by his office. Aliyev, 61, was last…

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Kyiv official wants Hungarian, Ukrainian leaders to meet over EU membership bid

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said he wanted to arrange a meeting between the Ukrainian and Hungarian leaders amid Budapest's opposition to a proposal to…

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UPDATED: Russia to hold presidential election on March 17, 2024

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Russia's upper house of parliament voted on Thursday to set the date for Russia's presidential election for March 17, 2024. The decision was passed unanimously…

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Zelenskiy assures Ukrainians of victory with U.S. aid in the balance

By Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth KYIV, Dec 6 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians on Wednesday that Kyiv would defeat Russia and win a fair peace "against all…

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G7 leaders to meet virtually on Wednesday with Ukraine’s Zelenskiy

By Sakura Murakami and John Geddie TOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries will hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday with Ukraine's president, Volodomyr…

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UPDATED: Putin talks oil, Gaza and Ukraine on Middle East trip, to meet Saudi’s MbS

Putin to meet MbS Putin meets Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Putin starts rare trip to Middle East Oil, OPEC+, Gaza, Ukraine on the agenda Putin to meet Iranian…

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Yellen says U.S. would be ‘responsible for Ukraine’s defeat’ if aid fails in Congress

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the United States would be "responsible for Ukraine's defeat" if Congress fails to approve the Biden administration's latest multi-billion-dollar funding…

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Kremlin says OPEC+ output cuts will kick in later, confirms Putin to visit Gulf

Oil output cuts agreed by the OPEC+ group will take time to kick in, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, as it confirmed that President Vladimir Putin would visit the United…

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Deputy Russian army corps commander is killed in Ukraine

Major General Vladimir Zavadsky, deputy commander of Russia's 14th Army Corps, has been killed in Ukraine, a top regional official said on Monday. The governor of Russia's Voronezh region, Alexander…

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White House says it is nearly out of money to help Ukraine fight war with Russia

WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - White House budget director Shalanda Young warned in a letter to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders on Monday that the United…

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Kyiv accuses Russian forces of shooting surrendering Ukrainian soldiers

Kyiv officials accused Moscow of committing a war crime after a grainy video on social media appeared to show several soldiers shooting two surrendering military personnel who emerged from a…

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Temperatures in Siberia dip to minus 50 Celsius as record snow blankets Moscow

MOSCOW, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Temperatures in parts of Siberia plummeted to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit) while blizzards blanketed Moscow in record snowfall and disrupted flights…

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No let up in tensions between Moldova and Russia

Pro-European authorities in Moldova dismissed as groundless a ban imposed by Russia on imports of its fruit and vegetables, the latest display of deteriorating relations between Moscow and the ex-Soviet…

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Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant suffered power outage-energy ministry

KYIV, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost its power supply after the last remaining line to it from Ukrainian-controlled territory was disrupted, but it has…

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Russia increases maximum military strength by 170,000 soldiers

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the maximum number of servicemen in the Russian armed forces by 170,000 people, the Kremlin and the Defence Ministry said…

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Ukrainian official predicts Kyiv airport soon to reopen

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine has become progressively stronger over the past year and will soon be able to reopen Kyiv's international airport, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said…

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Russia assumes Western sanctions will last for many years – Kremlin

MOSCOW, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Russia is working on the assumption that sanctions against it by the United States and its allies will last for many years, but that U.S. influence on…

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Russia says dual Russian-Italian national arrested for train bombing on behalf of Ukraine

MOSCOW, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Russian investigators said on Friday a dual Russian-Italian national had been detained for planting bombs on railway tracks as part of a sabotage campaign orchestrated…

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy calls for fortifications in key frontline areas

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for faster construction of fortifications in key sectors under pressure from Russian forces, particularly in eastern Ukraine, the focal point of Moscow's advances 21 months into…

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UPDATED: Top Russian court bans LGBT movement as “extremist”

Russia's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that LGBT activists should be designated as extremists, in a move that representatives of gay and transgender people fear will lead to arrests and…

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Russia accuses Bulgaria of malice and stupidity over diplomatic overflight ban

MOSCOW, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Russia accused Bulgaria of malice and stupidity on Thursday for refusing to allow Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's plane to fly through its airspace. The plane…

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