Category: European Union

Previously all-powerful, the Wagner Group has slowly been reduced in size and dismantled in many of the countries it operated in since the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in August 2023. VOA Russian spoke to U.S. and Russian researchers who have written books about the Wagner Group in the past year, and they tell a story of the military group now narrowly focused only on certain countries in Africa where they continue to serve the Kremlin’s interests. See the full story here.   …

GABORONE, BOTSWANA — Botswana has been added as a second center, in addition to Belgium, to verify the origin of rough diamonds meant for export to the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries, the nation’s presidency announced Thursday. African producers had complained that making Belgium the sole verification center led to disruptions in the global diamond supply chain, as the G7 moved to stop the flow of gems mined in Russia. A statement by the office of the president said Botswana was granted permission to set up a verification center following “intensive” discussions with the G7 Diamond Technical Team. The announcement comes as President Duma Boko and Minister of Minerals Bogolo Kenewendo returned Thursday from a diamond conference in Brussels. Kenewendo told state television it is logical to grant Botswana, the world’s second-largest producer of diamonds, the right to certify rough stones. She said that Botswana has a track record in verification and certification, together with other countries under the Kimberley Process. The Kimberley Process is a trade regime that certifies rough diamond exports entering the global market, but it has been criticized for failing to do enough to keep out diamonds from conflict zones. Diamond-producing countries such as Angola and Namibia should be recognized verifiers because they have prepared through the Kimberley Process, Kenewendo said. To sanction Russian diamonds, the G7, at the start of the year, proposed that all stones destined for export to their member countries be routed through Antwerp, Belgium, to verify their origin. African producers, led by Botswana, protested, saying the move caused disruptions to the global supply chain due to delays and added costs. Belgian-based diamond industry researcher Hans Merket said the addition of Botswana as a verification center will allow more flexibility. “Botswana appears to be something of a test case with the G7 Diamond Technical Team already explicitly referencing Namibia and Angola as potential future certification nodes,” Merket said. “By diversifying the certification points, this approach could establish a more balanced and inclusive framework for the G7 certification scheme aligning more closely with the global dynamics of the global supply chain,” he said. “Moreover, it can also help pave the way for stricter controls and higher ethical standards in the diamond sector, particularly as the Kimberley Process certification scheme faces increasing criticism for its declining credibility and leniency,” Merket said. Jaff Bamenjo, coordinator of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, said more African … “Botswana joins Belgium as center for diamond certification” →

stockholm — One of two Baltic subsea cables that were damaged earlier this month in a suspected sabotage is back online, a spokesman for operator company Arelion said. The cable connecting Sweden and Lithuania was repaired as of Thursday and traffic had resumed at full capacity, spokesman Martin Sjogren said. Two subsea cables, the other linking Finland and Germany, were damaged in less than 24 hours on November 17-18, prompting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to say he assumed it was sabotage. Undersea cables transmit nearly all the world’s internet data traffic and are considered critical infrastructure because they are the communication backbone between countries. Investigators have zeroed in on Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the country sent a formal request to China seeking cooperation to help clarify what happened when the undersea cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea. “We are cooperating with Swedish police in their investigation of our damaged cable,” Sjogren said. “It’s very difficult to secure the entire subsea infrastructure but the international cooperation between authorities, military and companies is working very well,” he said. Arelion, once part of telecom company Telia, owns 75,000 kilometers of fiber network. Finland’s Cinia, which owns the other cable, has also started repair work and estimated completion by the end of this month. …

British and American authorities are investigating why several drones were flying over four U.S. air bases in England in recent days. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Britain has deployed dozens of troops around the bases amid concerns such drones could be used to disrupt operations or carry out acts of deception and sabotage. …

TBILISI, GEORGIA — Georgia’s ruling party said on Thursday that the country would suspend talks on European Union accession until 2028, while also refusing budgetary grants from Brussels, effectively halting its application to join the bloc, a long-standing national goal. In response, thousands of pro-EU protesters blocked streets in the capital, while the country’s figurehead president accused the government of declaring war on its own people with the move. The Georgian Dream governing bloc accused the EU of “a cascade of insults,” saying in a statement it was using the prospect of accession talks to blackmail the country and to “organize a revolution in the country.” As a result, it said, “We have decided not to put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028. Also, we refuse any budgetary grant from the European Union until the end of 2028.” The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million has the aim of EU accession written into its constitution and has traditionally been among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union’s successor states. Georgia’s relations with Brussels have deteriorated sharply in recent months amid EU allegations of authoritarianism and pro-Russian tendencies. The EU had already said that Georgia’s application is frozen. Georgian Dream says that it is not pro-Russian and that it is committed to democracy and integration with the West. It says it wants to join the EU eventually but has repeatedly engaged in diplomatic feuds with Brussels in recent years while deepening ties with neighboring Russia. There was no immediate formal comment from the EU on Georgian Dream’s statement. But an EU official said the impact of Thursday’s move was huge, adding that the government was doing what the EU had feared and had hoped it would not. Opinion polls show that around 80% of Georgians support EU membership, and the bloc’s flag flies alongside the national flag outside virtually all government buildings in the country. Georgia’s pro-Western opposition reacted to Georgian Dream’s announcement with fury, while several thousand protesters massed outside parliament and the ruling party’s headquarters, blocking roads. Local media reported that protests erupted in several provincial cities. Giorgi Vashadze, a prominent opposition leader, wrote on Facebook: “the self-proclaimed, illegitimate government has already legally signed the betrayal of Georgia and the Georgian people.” President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of Georgian Dream whose powers are mostly ceremonial, said the ruling … “Protests erupt in Georgia after government halts EU application until 2028” →

Russian drones and missiles pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure Thursday, cutting off power to more than 1 million people across the country, Ukrainian authorities said. “As of now, 523,000 subscribers in the Lviv region are without electricity,” regional head Maksym Kozytsky said on social media. The region, in the western part of the country, borders Poland. Directly north of the Lviv region, 215,000 customers lost power in the region of Volyn, and in the neighboring Rivne region, governor Oleksandr Koval said 280,000 consumers were without power. “Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy’s massive strike,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook. Ukrenergo, the national electrical grid operator, introduced emergency power cuts amid the attack, Galushchenko said. Officials told Reuters that several nuclear power units were disconnected from the network during the attacks. Private power company DTEK said the power cuts impacted Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. Some regional officials said water service also was affected by the airstrikes. The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andrii Yermak, said in a Telegram post that Russia had stockpiled missiles to strike Ukrainian infrastructure and wage war against civilians during the cold season, The Associated Press reported. Information from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters was used in the report.  …

Tehran, Iran — Iran is set to meet on Friday with France, Germany and the United Kingdom for talks on its nuclear program after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the U.N. atomic watchdog. Last week’s chiding prompted a defiant response from Tehran, but its officials have since signaled willingness to engage with other parties ahead of the return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose last administration pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against the Islamic republic. Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who serves as the political deputy to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, is scheduled to represent Iran in the talks on Friday. He will meet beforehand with Enrique Mora, deputy secretary general of the EU’s foreign affairs arm, according to the IRNA state news agency. Last week, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution condemning Iran for its lack of cooperation on nuclear issues. The resolution was brought by France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was actively opposed by Tehran. In response, Iran announced the launch of “new advanced centrifuges” designed to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium. Tehran’s willingness to sit down with the three European countries so soon after the censure comes just weeks before Trump is set to return to the White House in January. During his first term, Trump focused on imposing heavy sanctions on Iran following the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal three years after it was established. That agreement between Tehran and major powers aimed to give Iran relief from crippling Western sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear program to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. In retaliation for the U.S. withdrawal, Tehran has reduced its compliance with the deal, raising its uranium enrichment levels to 60% — close to the 90% required for a nuclear bomb. Tehran has consistently denied any intentions of pursuing nuclear weapons. For Tehran, the goal of the talks on Friday is to avoid a “double disaster” scenario, in which it would face renewed pressures from both Trump and European nations, according to political analyst Mostafa Shirmohammadi. He noted that Iran’s support among European nations had been eroded by allegations it offered military assistance for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Iran has denied these accusations and hopes to mend relations with Europe, while also … “Iran to hold nuclear talks with 3 European powers” →

CHISINAU, MOLDOVA — The termination of Russian gas supplies to Moldova’s breakaway region of Transdniestria after January 1, 2025, is a “very realistic” scenario, Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said on Wednesday after talks with Russia’s Gazprom.  Parliсov spoke with the head of Gazprom on Monday to discuss alternate routes to supply Transdniestria if transit through Ukraine stops.  The current gas-transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia ends on December 31 and Ukraine has said it will not extend it. The unrecognized, Russian-backed Transdniestria region depends heavily on Russian natural gas supplied via Ukraine.  Parliсov told a press conference in Chisinau that Gazprom was ready to supply gas to Transdniestria via the current route, but that it was up to Moldova and Ukraine to agree on transit.  “From discussions with my Ukrainian colleagues, I understand that if there is a decision to continue transit, it may be taken at the last moment,” Parlicov said.  Moldova receives about 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia through Ukraine and since 2022, Transdniestria and Chisinau have agreed that all Russian gas received by Moldova will go to the breakaway region.  Transdniestria has a large power plant fueled by Russian gas and Chisinau, in turn, buys electricity from the region at a relatively low fixed price.  Parlicov, speaking later on Moldovan TV8 television, said he felt during his talks in St. Petersburg that Russia was less forthright in its commitment to supporting Transdniestria, which it has backed since the collapse of Soviet rule in the 1990s.  “This is already not a taboo subject like it was before,” he said.  As an example, he said, Transdniestria’s steel mill, a key exporter, had been left virtually unable to operate after a Russian attack on a power substation in southern Ukraine.  He acknowledged that if gas supplies were cut to Transdniestria, the region would need financial help to survive and avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.  Possible alternative  Moldova has said that if Ukraine ends the transit of Russian gas, an alternative for Transdniestria could be gas supplied by the TurkStream pipeline to Turkey and then through Bulgaria and Romania.  However, Parlicov told the briefing that Gazprom in the talks had linked continued deliveries via alternate routes to its demands that Moldova pay a debt on past supplies, which according to Russian calculations stands at $709 million.  Moldova has said its debt is $8.6 million.  “We believe that it’s … “Moldova says end of Russian gas for Transdniestria ‘very realistic’ scenario” →

Geneva, Switzerland — A young South African activist living with HIV will take over Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron’s Instagram account on World AIDS Day, the United Nations said Thursday. Ibanomonde Ngema, a 21-year-old activist, will be given the reins to the South African-born actress’s global account @charlizeafrica, with some 7.6 million followers, on December 1, UNAIDS said in a statement. The takeover by Ngema, who was born with HIV and has dedicated her advocacy work to dispelling myths and reducing stigma around HIV, will aim to bring awareness to the first-hand experiences of young people living with HIV, it said. Theron, a so-called UN Messenger of Peace who has long advocated for tackling the systemic inequalities that drive HIV infections among young women and girls, insisted in the statement that “ending AIDS is within reach.” But, she warned, “only if we completely dismantle harmful patterns of stigma and discrimination through laws, policies, and practices that protect people living with HIV.” Theron won a best actress Oscar for her lead role in the 2004 film “Monster” and has more recently starred in pictures such as “Mad Max: Fury Road.” “I have always loved watching Charlize Theron on the big screen and have long been inspired by her using her influence to help people around the world, especially in our home country of South Africa,” Ngema said in the statement. The announcement came after UNAIDS this week released a new report that showed how rights violations exacerbate the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV. Last year, women and girls accounted for 62% of all new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, UNAIDS said. …

Ukraine’s population has been shrinking for the past 30 years and officials say the decline has accelerated as a result of the full-scale war with Russia. Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. Camera: Vladyslav Smilianets …

BERLIN — Russia’s acts of sabotage against Western targets may eventually prompt NATO to consider invoking the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defense clause, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service said on Wednesday. Speaking at an event of the DGAP think tank in Berlin on Wednesday, Bundesnachrichtendienst chief Bruno Kahl said he expected Moscow to further step up its hybrid warfare. “The extensive use of hybrid measures by Russia increases the risk that NATO will eventually consider invoking its Article 5 mutual defense clause,” he noted. “At the same time, the increasing ramp up of the Russian military potential means a direct military confrontation with NATO becomes one possible option for the Kremlin.” Under Article 5, if a NATO member comes under attack, the other members of the alliance are obliged to help it respond. NATO and Western intelligence services have warned that Russia is behind a growing number of hostile activities across the Euro-Atlantic area, ranging from repeated cyberattacks to Moscow-linked arson — all of which Russia denies. Kahl said Russia’s military would likely be capable of attacking NATO by the end of the decade, adding that Moscow’s war on Ukraine meant that it had battle-proven troops under its command, raising the threat emanating from its conventional forces, while it also mastered modern drone warfare. According to the assessment of his experts, high-ranking officials in the Russian defense ministry doubt whether NATO’s Article 5 including U.S. protective measures for Europe would actually be invoked in case of an emergency, the intel chief said. “We don’t have any indication yet that Russia intends to go to war, but if such sentiments gain the upper hand in the government in Moscow, then the risk for a military confrontation will grow over the coming years.” Should Russia attack one or several NATO allies, it would not do so to grab massive swaths of land, Kahl said, but rather to test red lines set by the West with the aim of defeating Western unity and NATO as a defensive alliance. “In Russia’s view, this goal would be reached if Article 5 were to remain without effect in case of a Russian attack,” he said. “To meet this target, you don’t need to send tank armies westwards, it is enough to dispatch little green men to the Baltics to protect allegedly threatened Russian minorities or adjust borders on Svalbard.” …

LONDON — Romania’s top security agency said Thursday it is investigating possible foreign interference in Sunday’s first round of the nation’s presidential election. The far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu, topped all other candidates with almost 23% of the vote, despite polling in single digits before the election. Georgescu will compete in a December 8 runoff with center-right candidate Elena Lasconi, who finished second with 19% and hopes to pick up support from defeated centrist and leftist candidates. Romanians will also vote in parliamentary elections on December 1. The Supreme Defense Council, which is led by incumbent President Klaus Iohannis, is due to meet on Thursday to “analyze possible risks to national security generated by the actions of state and non-state cyber parties,” according to a statement released Wednesday by the president’s office. Additionally, the National Audiovisual Council of Romania, which regulates broadcasting and social media, has urged the European Commission to investigate the role TikTok may have played in Sunday’s vote amid what it called “suspicions of manipulation of public opinion,” according to Reuters. Protests Protesters have taken to the streets of Bucharest in the wake of Georgescu’s surprise victory. Uma, a student who did not want to give her family name, joined the protests in central Bucharest on Monday. “Calin Georgescu, an extremist, a far-right extremist who is a pro-Russian, wants to take Romania away from the NATO course,” she said. Georgescu has questioned NATO and European Union support for Kyiv in its war against Russian invaders. Romania hosts several thousand U.S. troops and shares a 613-kilometer border with Ukraine. The 62-year-old presidential candidate has praised fascist politicians in the 1930s as Romanian heroes. NATO membership, Russian engagement In a video streamed Tuesday on social media, Georgescu — standing alongside his wife, Cristela — sought to clarify his positions. “I do not want to leave NATO. I do not want to leave the European Union. What I want, however, is to take a stance, not to kneel over there, not to take everything. We should do everything in our national interest,” Georgescu said. “I have no connection to everything that says, ‘With Russia.’ I am Romanian, first and foremost. … I have no connection, and I am not, first and foremost, antisemitic.” Georgescu has urged Western engagement with Russia, echoing other right-wing European leaders such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban, said noted political analyst Radu Magdin, CEO of Smartlink Communications. “Mr. Georgescu … “Romania to investigate foreign interference after far-right vote surge” →

Protests by French and other European farmers are threatening a long-expected trade deal between the European Union and South American trading bloc Mercosur, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The EU hopes to clinch it next month — but individual EU countries would still need to ratify the agreement. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power also factors into the equation — sparking a bigger debate about whether Europe’s economy should look inward or outward for answers. Lisa Bryant reports from Paris. …

The White House this week officially confirmed Ukraine’s use of U.S.-made ATACMS missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia. White House National Security Advisor John Kirby told reporters that Ukraine can use ATACMS to defend itself on “an immediate-need basis.” “We did change the guidance and gave them guidance that they can use them to strike these particular types of targets,” he said. VOA Russian spoke to experts about the timing and the reasons for the shift in U.S. policy. See the full story here. …

The European Parliament has put forward a motion for a resolution addressing the increasing and systemic repression against women in Iran. The proposal, introduced on Wednesday, highlights various instances of repression, violence, discrimination, injustice and human rights violations against women by the Islamic Republic in Iran. See the full story here. …

Russia’s demographic crisis is deepening, with the nation projected to lose up to half of its population by the end of this century. In response, Moscow is stepping up its war on Western-style liberal influence with a law that fines anyone who promotes a childless lifestyle. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina. …

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that Russian forces launched 89 drones in a wave of overnight attacks that left three people injured in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, said on Telegram that falling debris from a destroyed drone damaged a building. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 of the 89 drones, the country’s military said. In addition to Kyiv, intercepts took place over the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, and Zhytomyr regions. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it shot down 25 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and Russia-occupied Crimea. That followed another 22 drones that Russian air defenses shot down overnight, the ministry said. Most of the drones were shot down in areas along the Russia-Ukraine border, including over the Rostov, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk and Bryansk regions. There were no reports of major damage from the Ukrainian attacks. “The only effective way to protect ourselves from this is to eliminate Russian weapons and Russian launchers directly on Russian territory,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Tuesday. “That is why the ability to strike Russian territory is so important to us. This is the only factor that can limit Russian terror and Russia’s capacity to wage war in general,” he added. Countries that have given Ukraine weapons to fight Russia have been reluctant to give Ukraine permission to launch those weapons directly into Russia, but Zelenskyy said he is “grateful to all the partners who understand this and convey it to other partners.” Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters …

THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor asked judges on Wednesday to issue an arrest warrant for the head of Myanmar’s military regime for crimes committed against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who took power from elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in 2021, is accused of crimes against humanity for the deportation and persecution of the Rohingya. Nearly a million people were forced into neighboring Bangladesh to escape what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and the torching of homes. From a refugee camp in Bangladesh, the court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in a statement that he intends to request more warrants for Myanmar’s leaders soon. “In doing so, we will be demonstrating, together with all of our partners, that the Rohingya have not been forgotten. That they, like all people around the world, are entitled to the protection of the law,” the British barrister said. The allegations stem from a counterinsurgency campaign that Myanmar’s military began in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack. Hlaing, who heads the Myanmar Defense Services, is said to have directed the armed forces of Myanmar, known as the Tatmadaw, as well as national police to attack Rohingya civilians. Khan was in Bangladesh where he met with members of the displaced Rohingya population. Myanmar does not belong to the global court, but Bangladesh does. In 2018 judges at the court ruled the prosecutor could look into crimes which were “completed” on the territory of a member state, such as forcible deportation. In 2019, Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, formally requested to open an investigation into the situation and judges gave the green light for investigations into “any crime, including any future crime” committed at least partly in Bangladesh or another court member state and linked to the Rohingya. The move paved the way for Khan to pursue crimes beyond forcing men, women and children over the border and into refugee camps. The request comes days after a powerful rebel group seized a key trading town in northeastern Myanmar on the Chinese border, taking control of a lucrative rare earth mining hub in another setback for the military-led government. The military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021, triggering intensified fighting with long-established armed militias organized by Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups in its border regions … “ICC prosecutor requests arrest warrants for the head of Myanmar’s military regime” →

Strasbourg, France — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned Wednesday that Europe has “no time to waste” to boost its defenses and its competitiveness, as European lawmakers prepared to greenlight her new executive to start work. Addressing parliamentarians in Strasbourg, von der Leyen said her team was ready to get to work immediately on rising to the bloc’s mounting challenges — most urgently the Ukraine war “raging at Europe’s borders.” Appealing for a massive defense spending boost, she said, “We have no time to waste. And we must be as ambitious as the threats are serious.” From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to war in the Middle East, the mounting economic threat from China and the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House, the European Union has its hands full. “Our freedom and sovereignty depend more than ever on our economic strength. Our security depends on our ability to compete, innovate and produce,” von der Leyen told lawmakers. Ensuring a swift handover at the helm of the 27-nation bloc after European elections in June is seen as critical. The new team should formally start its mandate on Sunday, after several of the main groups in parliament reached a deal to back it. Right, centrist and center-left groups last week agreed to vote in the new 27-member commission as a whole, skippered by Germany’s von der Leyen, 66, for a second term. That came after all nominees put forward by member states were — for the first time in decades — cleared individually, though only after a bout of political horse-trading. Parliament has previously used the process to flex its muscles and turn down some candidates. Weapons and tariffs The top roles in the new commission speak of the priorities for the next five years. Estonia’s ex-premier Kaja Kallas is to take over the reins as the bloc’s top diplomat, while Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius landed a new role overseeing the EU’s push to rearm. Both are hawkish Russia critics. The EU must swiftly increase defense spending to rival Russian levels, von der Leyen said Wednesday, noting there was “something wrong” when Moscow is spending up to 9% of GDP on defense against the EU’s 1.9%. She has previously said the bloc needs to invest $526 billion on defense over the next decade if it wants to keep up with Russia and China. This has become more urgent since Donald Trump … “New EU commission to get all clear with big push on defense and economy” →

Russia launched its largest drone strike on Ukraine overnight with 188 drones, Ukraine’s air force said Tuesday.    Ukraine’s military said it shot down 76 Russian drones in the overnight attacks that targeted areas across the country and damaged critical infrastructure facilities.   The air force said Russia also used four missiles in the aerial assault.   “Unfortunately, there were hits to critical infrastructure facilities, and private and apartment buildings were damaged in several regions due to the massive drone attack,” according to an air force statement.   The attack coincided with a push by Russia on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, where Russia claimed to have gained nearly 240 square kilometers in the past week, for a total of about 600 square kilometers in November, Reuters reported, citing the Russian army and other analysts.  For its part, Ukraine reporting repelling Russian troops from Kupiansk, a logistical center in Kharkiv, for the third time, according to Reuters.  “The only effective way to protect ourselves from this is to eliminate Russian weapons and Russian launchers directly on Russian territory,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.  “That is why the ability to strike Russian territory is so important to us. This is the only factor that can limit Russian terror and Russia’s capacity to wage war in general,” he added.   Countries that have given Ukraine weapons to fight Russia have been reluctant to give Ukraine permission to launch those weapons directly into Russia, but Zelenskyy said he is “grateful to all the partners who understand this and convey it to other partners.”    “Nearly 200 Russian drones against Ukraine in one day — that is nearly 200 proofs that Russian ambitions are utterly detached from any ideas of real peace,” Zelenskyy said.  Ukraine’s president said rescue operations are still underway in Sumy, where Russia’s barrage of drones targeted a vehicle service station. The president said two people had been killed in Sumy and “one person is likely still trapped under the rubble.”    Ukrainian air defenses shot down drones in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia and Zhytomyr regions.  The power grid of Ternopil in western Ukraine, about 134 miles east of Poland was hit in the attack.  “The consequences are bad because the facility was significantly affected and this will have impact on the power supply … “ Russia launches largest drone attack of war, pushes deeper into Ukraine” →

Former Russian federal and local parliament deputies who broke away from Russian President Vladimir Putin and turned against the Kremlin are gathered for a meeting in Warsaw. Former Russian State Duma member Gennady Gudkov told VOA Russian that Russian exiles need to create efficient media outlets to oppose Kremlin propaganda and reach Russian-speaking populations inside and outside of Russia. See the full story here.     …

To compensate for heavy losses on the battlefield, Russia is actively recruiting soldiers from developing countries. After reports that Russia used deceptive tactics to recruit hundreds of fighters from Yemen, VOA Russian spoke to experts about how Moscow is recruiting soldiers from as far as Colombia and Brazil. Researchers say the Kremlin is trying to staff up its military and recruit more soldiers using any means available. See the full story here.   …

BUCHAREST — A Romanian hard-right NATO critic and leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu appeared in dead heat after the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, partial tallies showed, in a shock result threatening Romania’s staunchly pro-Ukraine stance.  After nearly 93% of votes were counted, Calin Georgescu, 62, was at 22%, while Ciolacu had 21%, suggesting they will likely qualify to face each other in the second round, due on Dec. 8.  A center-right contender, Elena Lasconi, was running second, behind Georgescu, among the hundreds of thousands of voters living outside Romania, with about 50% ballots cast there counted. But that margin might not be enough to win her a spot in the final race after all votes are tallied, observers said.  Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that gives him or her control over defense spending — likely to be a difficult issue as Bucharest comes under pressure to uphold NATO spending goals during Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president while trying to reduce a heavy fiscal deficit.  Some opinion polls had Georgescu running at around 5% of the vote in the run-up to the election, after barely registering in earlier polls.  Political commentator Radu Magdin said the difference between his single-digit popularity and Sunday’s result was without precedent since Romania shed communism in 1989.  “Never in our 34 years of democracy have we seen such a surge compared to surveys,” Magdin said.  Campaigning focused largely on the soaring cost of living, with Romania having the EU’s biggest share of people at risk of poverty.  Ciolacu had courted voters with a promise of generous spending and no tax hikes, despite Romania running the European Union’s largest budget deficit at 8% of economic outlook, while offering a sense of security in policy stability at a time of a war next door.  Formerly a prominent member of the hard-right Alliance for Uniting Romanians party, Georgescu has called NATO’s ballistic missile defense shield in the Romanian town of Deveselu a “shame of diplomacy.”  He has said the North Atlantic alliance will not protect any of its members should they be attacked by Russia.  “We are strong and brave, many of us voted, even more will do so in the second round,” Georgescu said standing alone on Sunday evening outside a residential building near capital Bucharest.  Lasconi, a former journalist, joined the Save Romania Union (USR) in 2018 and became party head this … “Pro-Russian candidate creates a surprise in Romanian presidential election” →

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is “incredibly concerned” about the escalating use of different types of weaponry in Russia’s nearly three-year war on Ukraine, his designated choice for national security adviser said Sunday. Michael Waltz, now a Florida congressman, told “Fox News Sunday” that the decision by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to use anti-personnel land mines to try to halt Russia’s battlefield ground troop advances has turned the fight in eastern Ukraine into something akin to “World War I trench warfare.” Waltz said the decision “needs to be within a broader framework to end this conflict.” “It is just an absolute meat grinder of people and personnel on that front,” he said. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week the United States is sending the anti-personnel mines to Ukraine because of the changing nature of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the main battlefield. He said Russian ground troops, rather than forces more protected in armored carriers, are leading Moscow’s advance, so Ukraine has “a need for things that can help slow down that effort.” Waltz said Trump, who takes office January 20, is concerned about the carnage but said that in the broad picture, the question that must be preeminent is, “How do we restore deterrence and how do we bring peace?” “We need to, we need to bring this to a responsible end,” he added. Trump has often claimed that he would end the Russia-Ukraine war even before he is inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president. Trump has never said how and refused to say during a campaign debate in September that he wants Ukraine to win. Biden gave Ukraine authority to launch Washington-supplied missiles with a 300-kilometer range deep into Russia in response to North Korea’s dispatch of 10,000 troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces. Within two days, Kyiv targeted weapons warehouses in Russia’s Bryansk region with the missiles. Then, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a new experimental rocket, targeting Dnipro in Ukraine’s eastern region. “This is a clear escalation,” Waltz said. “Where is this escalation going? How do we get both sides to the table” for peace negotiations? Waltz, whose appointment does not require Senate confirmation, said he has been meeting with Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser. Waltz said that any U.S. adversary “is wrong” if it thinks it can “play one side off against the other” with the switch … “Trump ‘incredibly concerned’ about escalation of munitions in Russia-Ukraine conflict, aide says  “ →

KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Ukraine. The measure, whose final version appeared on a government website Saturday, underscores Russia’s needs for military personnel in the nearly 3-year war, even as it fired last week a new intermediate-range ballistic missile. According to Russian state news agency Interfax, the new legislation allows those signing up for a one-year contract to write off bad debts of up to 10 million rubles ($96,000). The law applies to debts for which a court order for collection was issued and enforcement proceedings had commenced before Dec. 1, 2024. It also applies to the spouses of new recruits. Russia has ramped up military recruitment by offering increasing financial incentives, in some cases several times the average salary, to those willing to fight in Ukraine. The strategy has allowed the military to boost its ranks in the conflict zone while avoiding another mobilization order. A “partial mobilization” in September 2022 sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Russian men, who fled the country to avoid enlistment. The intense and drawn-out war has strained Russian resources. Putin in September called for the military to increase its troops by 180,000. The U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia in October, some of whom have recently begun engaging in combat on the front lines, piling more pressure on Ukraine’s also weary and overstretched army. The AP sees wreckage of Russia’s new experimental missile The push for recruits coincides with the firing of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday. Putin said it was in response to Kyiv’s use of American and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia. Ukraine’s Security Service showed The Associated Press on Sunday wreckage of the new experimental ballistic missile, which struck a factory in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The fragments of the missile called Oreshnik -– Russian for hazel tree, and which the Pentagon said is based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile -– have not been analyzed yet, according to security officials on site in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. The AP and other media were able to see the fragments before they were taken by investigators. Charred, mangled wires and an ashy airframe the size of a large snow tire was all that remained of the weapon, which can carry either conventional … “Moscow offers debt forgiveness to new recruits and AP sees wreckage of new Russian missile” →

Taipei, Taiwan   — Taiwan’s foreign minister, Lin Chia-lung, wrapped up a weeklong trip to Europe Sunday after meeting European lawmakers in Brussels and overseeing efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation in developing drone technology between Taiwan and Lithuania. Analysts say the trip was part of Taiwan’s ongoing efforts to deepen engagement with European countries and reflected the current administration’s attempt to focus on facilitating practical and tangible cooperation with individual nations. “European countries and members of the European parliament have pushed for tangible cooperation that the EU and Taiwan can both agree on, so focusing on deepening bilateral ties is a more realistic approach for Taiwan as it can help tangible examples of economic cooperation to materialize,” Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an expert on EU-Taiwan relations at National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan, told VOA. During his seven-day trip, Lin met with several members of the European Parliament in Brussels and visited the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre, which focuses on nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Lin has made economic and trade diplomacy his priority since becoming Taiwan’s top diplomat in May. Lin also led a delegation of representatives from 20 Taiwanese drone companies to Lithuania. They attended a forum on drone technologies and signed two agreements that will facilitate collaboration in the unmanned aerial vehicle industry. The signing of the agreements is part of Taiwan’s efforts to build a domestic drone manufacturing industry, which the government sees as an important part of enhancing the island’s overall defense capabilities in the face of increasing military pressure imposed by China. Beijing views Taiwan, a self-governing island, as an inalienable part of its territory that should one day reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary. In September, Taiwan gathered more than 50 domestic drone manufacturers and established the Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance, which has been building drone development partnerships with other countries. On November 16, the alliance signed an agreement to promote drone development with the Polish-Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Experts say Lin’s trip can help Taiwan broaden the scope of economic cooperation with central and eastern European countries beyond the semiconductor industry. By focusing on developing partnerships in drone development with Lithuanian companies, “the trip allows the conversation around economic engagements with Taiwan to move beyond the focus on semiconductors,” Marcin Jerzewski, the head of the Taiwan Office at the European Values Center for Security Policy, told VOA by phone. … “Taiwan seeks to strengthen cooperation with Europe through foreign minister’s trip  “ →