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US representatives from the Biden administration say that their increased efforts to provide Ukraine with weapons at the end of Biden’s term, along with the president’s authorizations for missile strikes deep into Russia and the deployment of antipersonnel mines, could give Kyiv some room for maneuver. At the same time, they are urging Ukrainian leaders to enlarge their military with more than 160,000 recruits, the WP writes. At the same time, the White House believes that, despite the problems with

Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, who is under Western sanctions, said that Putin is likely to reject the peace plan proposed by Trump’s recently appointed special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. According to Malofeev, for the talks to be constructive, they must address not only Ukraine’s future but the future of Europe and the world. Moscow will seriously consider a peace agreement only if Trump agrees to discuss other global conflicts, including wars in the Middle East and strengthening Russia’s alliance

Ukraine will not agree to any other options, such as surrogates or substitutes for full NATO membership, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum. The ministry recognized that it has failed to prevent Russia’s aggression as a nuclear power against Ukraine, a state without a nuclear arsenal. Failure to implement security guarantees through the Budapest Memorandum has caused a catastrophic increase in security threats for other countries and regions, including Europe.

US Defense Department officials have confirmed that the Biden administration will ask Congress for $24B in additional funding to support Ukraine. Of this amount, $8B would be allocated to the USAI (Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative) program, with $16B to replenish US warehouses and gather new assistance packages under the presidential drawdown authority (PDA). Supplies under the USAI program can take a long time to be delivered, as they involve ordering weapons for Ukraine from manufacturers. Under the PDA program, assistance

According to an anonymous senior NATO official, the United Kingdom and France are considering various options to guarantee Ukraine’s security if peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow are launched that lead to a cessation of hostilities. One possible scenario that could be offered to Ukraine and Russia is the deployment of French and British troops “on the contact line to monitor a ceasefire that may be achieved as a result of the negotiations.” The NATO official said such talks are

President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs additional air defense systems to protect 20 more special facilities from Russian air attack. Meanwhile, on December 2 the UN discussed the problems of protecting Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure from Russian attack. The event at the UN headquarters was held simultaneously as Russia presented the “Technical Guide to Protecting Critical Energy Infrastructure from Terrorist Attacks.” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe Miroslav Jenca noted that “since March of this year, Russian armed forces have been

Ukrainian parliament members approved amendments to the Budget Code, which introduced a new concept in the budgetary sphere – conditional debt obligations. This establishes a special status for funds that Ukraine will receive from frozen Russian assets. “The ‘non-refundable’ loan of $50B from the G7 countries and the EU is precisely such a conditional debt obligation because Ukraine will not repay this loan until it receives reparations from Russia,” explained the head of the Verkhovna Rada budget committee, Roksolana Pidlasa.

In the last week of November, the NBU allowed the hryvnia to weaken to a new record low of ₴41.60 per $1, according to ICU. The total foreign exchange deficit last week increased due to increased demand on the interbank market. Net purchases for the four days of the week increased by 41% compared to the previous week, to $408M. In return, the NBU increased interventions by only 20% to $709M, allowing the hryvnia exchange rate to weaken to new

Horodishche-Pustovarivskaya Agrarian Company (GOPAK), part of the Gals Agro agroholding, is the second company in Ukraine to start supplying biomethane it produces into the Ukrainian gas transportation system to be pumped into Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities. The company currently pumps about 2,000-3,000 cubic meters of biomethane into storage daily. Gals Agro has a biomethane production plant in the Chernihiv region with a designed capacity of three million cubic meters per year. It should be noted that the Vitagro group

The Business Expectations Activity Index (BAEI) decreased to 47.2 points in November, compared to 49.4 in October and 48.7 in September, the National Bank reported. The following factors had a negative impact on economic activity in November: ️intensification of hostilities; ️power outages due to Russian attacks on the energy system; increased costs for energy, labor, and logistics; accelerating inflation; ️significant shortage of qualified personnel; ️seasonal factors. Only trade enterprises positively assessed their business activity: the sectoral index in November decreased

Helsing, valued at €5B, has become one of Europe’s most valuable startups, thanks to a surge in demand for drones and software for drones and fighter jets amid the war in Ukraine. The company has developed the HX-2 strike drone, which can carry ammunition and navigate without a pilot or GPS. Helsing predicts that rising military tensions, particularly over the Ukraine war, will drive demand for thousands of such drones. The company said that connecting these drones through software to

The defense equipment will arrive by the end of this year, said the German chancellor, who arrived in Kyiv on December 2. Kyiv will receive IRIS-T air defense systems, Patriot launchers, 10 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks, 60 infantry fighting vehicles, and M84 and M80 armored vehicles. In addition, the package includes 6,000 unguided and 500 guided missiles, as well as 4,000 Helsing drones. It also contains winter equipment, small arms, and heating equipment. According to Scholz, his visit to

On the first day of his presidency, Donald Trump will have billions of dollars at his disposal to arm Ukraine. More than $6.5B remains within the presidential drawdown authority, which allows the US president to transfer weapons and equipment from US defense stocks directly to Ukraine. According to The Times, the Pentagon has now reached a critical limit in terms of the weapons that it can transfer to Ukraine each month without harming its own combat capability. There are also

US President-Elect Donald Trump’s team is studying the Ukrainian Victory Plan, which implies that there will be no capitulation of Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian president, the war in Ukraine has reached a critical point, and the question arises whether Washington will continue to support Kyiv after Trump’s inauguration. “They’re studying the plan, and we will hear from them. But there will be no capitulation from the side of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. He added that he expects additional negotiations with

During November, the Russian army suffered its largest military losses in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war, with 45,720 soldiers. The Ukraine Defense Forces also destroyed 307 Russian tanks. This is the highest monthly total for the fall campaign, and is equivalent to 10 tank battalions. The estimated cost of the destroyed equipment is $450M. In addition, the Ukrainian military damaged 899 enemy armored combat vehicles worth at least $500M. The enemy’s total weapon and equipment losses for

Former NATO Secretary General and next Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Jens Stoltenberg believes that a “temporary concession” of Ukraine’s occupied territories to Russia could be an option to achieve a quick ceasefire, but at the same time, this does not mean that Ukraine will give up its territories forever. Stoltenberg emphasized that Kyiv should receive security guarantees in exchange for territorial concessions, whether it is NATO membership or other ways of arming and supporting Ukraine. President Zelenskyy stressed

The Biden administration has excluded the possibility of returning nuclear weapons to Ukraine, stated US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. He denied information from Western media that the administration is open to giving Ukraine nuclear weapons. According to him, the issue is not even being discussed. “We are building up various conventional capabilities for Ukraine so that they can effectively defend themselves and fight the Russians. But we are not talking about nuclear potential,” he stressed. Putin commented on the

Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development, said: “The issue of toll roads is an EU requirement. We have a draft law on this issue and are working on its implementation.” During an EBA discussion, he stressed that Ukraine already has agreements with the EIB on this topic. Derkach added that a corresponding decision would be made based on the results of analysis and experts’ conclusions. Toll highways are expected to be used primarily for heavy trucks, and

Lviv municipal enterprise Green City signed an agreement with Polish contractor Control Process SA to continue the construction of a waste recycling plant in Lviv. The waste recycling project also received EBRD support for extending the grant agreement and allowing the purchase of about 70% of the project’s equipment. The contract extension provides for the plant’s construction by June 30, 2025; commissioning work should occur over the next two months. The resumption of construction is scheduled for the first week

According to Politico, Poland provides Ukraine with military aid, takes in refugees, and advocates for its interests in the EU, but it maintains a negative attitude towards Ukrainian agricultural exports, which casts a shadow over upcoming talks to replace temporary trade measures with a long-term agreement. Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia are ignoring EU orders to open their markets, risking legal action from Brussels. The move underscores Poland’s reluctance to fully comply with EU directives, even under the supposedly pro-European leadership