Fox News guest compares Russian invasion of Ukraine to Bloods and Crips
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Rishi Sunak has met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in his first visit to the Kyiv since he became prime minister.
The Brtish premier is set to confirm a new £50m package of air defence for the war-torn country, including 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter deadly Iranian-supplied drones, such as dozens of radars and anti-drone electronic warfare capability, No 10 said.
It follows more than 1,000 new anti-air missiles announced by the defence secretary earlier this month.
Elsewhere, the head of Ukraine’s biggest private energy firm has said those who are able to should leave the country to help reduce demand on the nation’s crippled energy system.
Maxim Timchenko, chief executive of DTEK, said those who have an “alternative place” to stay should go there for “three of four months.”
His comments to the BBC came after Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said that half of the country’s energy system had been destroyed by recent missile attacks by Russia.
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ICYMI: Hungary will not support EU aid plan to Ukraine, Orban says
Hungary will not support a European Union plan to provide Ukraine with billions in budget assistance next year, prime minister Viktor Orban said Friday, digging in on his country’s blocking of a major aid package the EU unveiled last week.
Speaking at a conference in Budapest, Orban said that while Hungary condemns Russia’s aggression and supports the Ukrainian people, he is not willing to put Ukraine’s interests before those of his own country.
Justin Spike has the full report:
Matt Mathers19 November 2022 15:34
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Sunak ‘humbled’ to be in Ukraine
Rishi Sunak said he was “humbled” to be in Ukraine, as the prime minister held his first face-to-face meeting with president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The visit came as the prime minister, in office only a matter of weeks, pledged continued British support to the war-torn country in the fight against Russia.
Mr Sunak’s arrival was accompanied by the announcement of a £50 million package of defence aid comprising 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to help Ukraine counter Iranian-supplied drones, including radars and anti-drone technology.
Matt Mathers19 November 2022 15:01
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Putin’s forces ‘dig in 60km behind Ukraine front line’ as Russia fears more losses
Russian forces are digging new trenches some 60km back from the current front line in Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), suggesting the Kremlin is bracing for further Ukrainian advances.
After retreating from Kherson – the only regional capital captured during the war so far – Russia continues to lose ground and its forces are focussing on reorganising, preparing and refitting defences across Ukraine, the MoD said in its latest intelligence update.
My colleague Shweta Sharma reports:
Matt Mathers19 November 2022 14:30
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Rishi Sunak meets Volodymyr Zelensky in first visit to Ukraine as PM
Rishi Sunak has travelled to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and confirm the UK’s continued support for the war-torn country.
The visit is Mr Sunak’s first to the region since he became prime minister last month.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Matt Mathers19 November 2022 13:54
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ICYMI: ‘We’re Ukraine’s second army’. The workers fighting to restore the country’s bombed-out railways
Bel Trew reports from the recently liberated city of Kherson, where – facing a constant threat from mines and potential artillery fire – rail workers are trying to get trains running again
Read Bel’s full report here:
Matt Mathers19 November 2022 13:13
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Polish villagers bury man killed in blast near Ukrainian border
One of the men killed by a missile that hit a southeastern Polish village this week will be buried on Saturday, the first of two funerals this weekend following a blast that raised fears that the war in Ukraine could spiral into a wider conflict.
Poland and other Western states have said the missile that landed in Przewodow, a village near the border with Ukraine, was a Ukrainian air defence missile that went astray in pursuit of a Russian missile.
Kyiv cast doubt on this version and has demanded access to the site and a role in the investigation into the cause of the explosion.
Polish soldiers search for missile wreckage near the place where a missile struck in Przewodow
(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
For the village itself, the blast plunged residents into mourning for two of their neighbours.
“It is sad for the family and the community,” said 67-year-old retired mechanic Ryszard Turczanik as he made his way towards the church. “Everybody is in deep sadness and we are going on this final road.”
Ahead of the funeral, local priest Bogdan Wazny described the victims as “very kind people”.
Matt Mathers19 November 2022 12:45
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Leave to help crippled energy system, residents urged
Ukrainians who are able to should leave the country to help reduce demand on the nation’s crippled energy system, the head of Ukraine’s biggest private energy firm has said.
Maxim Timchenko, chief executive of DTEK, said those who have an “alternative place” to stay should go there for “three of four months.”
His comments to the BBC came after Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said that half of the country’s energy system had been destroyed by recent missile attacks by Russia.
Matt Mathers19 November 2022 12:21
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Russia trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defences, Pentagon says
Russia’s surge in missile strikes in Ukraine are partly designed to exhaust Ukraine’s supplies of air defenses, something Moscow hopes would allow its forces to achieve dominance of the skies above the country, a senior Pentagon official said on Saturday.
“They’re really trying to overwhelm and exhaust Ukrainian air defense systems,” Colin Kahl, under secretary of defense for policy, told reporters during a trip to the Middle East.
“We know what the Russian theory of victory is, and we’re committed to making sure that’s not going to work by making sure that the Ukrainians get what they need to keep their air defenses viable.”
Matt Mathers19 November 2022 12:20
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Russia expecting uncertainty in fiscals over next year, British intelligence reports says
British Ministry of Defence said Russia conducted its largest-ever debt issuance in a single day, raising RUB 820 (USD $13.6bn) on 16 November 2022.
“This is important for Russia as debt issuance is a key mechanism to sustain defence spending, which has increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine,” the British MoD said on Saturday.
“Russia’s declared ‘national defence’ spending for 2023 is planned at approximately RUB 5tn ($84bn), a more than 40 per cent increase on the preliminary 2023 budget announced in 2021.”
It said the size of auction highly indicates that “the Russian Ministry of Finance perceives current conditions as relatively favourable but is anticipating an increasingly uncertain fiscal environment over the next year”.
Shweta Sharma19 November 2022 12:00
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Peace possible only after restoration of 1991 borders, Ukraine says
The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said peace with Russia is only possible if it restores the 1991 borders.
“There will be peace when we destroy the Russian army in Ukraine and reach the borders of 1991”, Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine held a referendum in 1991 when the Ukrainian parliament surprised the world by voting for Ukraine’s declaration of independence.
Shweta Sharma19 November 2022 11:30