Travel, property, and local info for Ukraine

15+ min ago (71+ words) Welcome to "Summary of the Week" " your quick guide to the top headlines. Welcome to "Summary of the Week" " your quick guide to the top headlines. Today is Saturday, December 13. Here's what happened over the past seven days. Three days of negotiations in Florida produced only procedural agreements. Thanks for watching this week's Summary of the Week. Don't forget to like and subscribe. See you next Saturday....

52+ min ago (332+ words) Belarusian authorities have released jailed opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova after President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned more than 120 convicted people, independent media and human rights groups reported on Saturday, Dec. 13. Kolesnikova, a key figure in Belarus" 2020 protest movement, was freed as part of a mass pardon that included 123 citizens of various countries, according to state news agency BelTA. The pardons were granted following consultations with the United States and at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump, BelTA said, citing what it described as the lifting of "illegal sanctions" on Belarus" potash industry. Kolesnikova"s sister, Tatyana Khomich, confirmed she had spoken with her by phone after her release. Independent outlet Nasha Niva reported that Kolesnikova was transferred from a penal colony to a pretrial detention center shortly before her release so that she could recover weight and "look more presentable." Nasha Niva…...

1+ hour, 54+ min ago (300+ words) Trump is lauding himself as a super peacemaker. A closer look at his "peace deals," however, shows how tenuous those agreements are. Trump's Ukraine negotiators would do well to watch and learn. The US government has chosen to take on the role of peace broker; thus, it owns a share in the responsibility for ensuring the implementation of any agreement it helps produce. The reality is that a guarantee is not enough to prevent bloodshed. Again, this is a lesson that Ukrainians know all too well from the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Perhaps people believe an "NATO Article 5-like" commitment will be better, but it will not be unless there are other conditions in place to make it so. This leads to the third lesson from the renewed fighting abroad: the importance of third parties in the peace process. At their core,…...

4+ hour, 34+ min ago (917+ words) Yes, it really is a lot like a video game. Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) on Tuesday opened a training area outside Kyiv to selected media for a presentation and " if reporters wanted " a test-drive of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) they developed against Russian forces. A Kyiv Post reporter took HUR up on the offer and test-drove a six-wheel medium UGV called Legit, a drone armed with a heavy machine gun in a remote-controlled turret. The drive test took place on soggy ground, but aside from light drizzle, it wasn't raining hard. HUR is one of several operators competing for resources and orders in the country's booming but fiercely competitive UGV market. Over 200 private companies, large and small, are thought to be producing UGVs of one form or another in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Ground Forces, the Armed Forces of…...

5+ hour, 56+ min ago (210+ words) Commentators examine the prospects for a fair vote " and see the ball in Trump's court now. In response to US President Donald Trump's comment that it was time for elections in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the country is ready to hold elections if the United States and Europe can guarantee its security. Commentators examine the prospects for a fair vote " and see the ball in Trump's court now. US politicians should go to the war zone Ukrainian Political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko considers elections under the current conditions utterly unrealistic, he writes in a Facebook post: Gross interference in Ukraine's internal affairs In a Facebook post picked up by Ukrainian Espreso, political scientist Mykhailo Bassarab lists arguments against holding elections: People can't vote from cellars and ruins Polish Polityka says the conditions for equal access to information " and…...

6+ hour, 59+ min ago (214+ words) Oleksandr Sanchenko, head of the music industry subcommittee of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy (Servant of the People faction) and president of the Ukrainian Association of Music Events (UAME), believes that fines for playing Russian music in restaurants and pubs should exceed UAH 50,000 in order to be effective. "The ban on Russian music in food service establishments, restaurants, pubs" We are also working on this. There are certain bureaucratic nuances there. I think that as a committee we will come out with a decision next year," Sanchenko told Interfax-Ukraine. He said that he has discussed the issue with State Language Protection Commissioner Olena Ivanovska in order to find workable mechanisms. "There must be a clear procedure for how this is done and a clear sanction. Because now, even if the police show up, the fine is…...

7+ hour, 13+ min ago (225+ words) On Saturday, Ukraine and Belarus carried out a transfer of civilian persons: 114 civilians were handed over to Ukraine, including Ukrainians who had been held on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported. "The youngest Ukrainian released is 25 years old. His wife was returned during a previous release. He and the other Ukrainians are civilian citizens who were detained in Belarus and accused of working for Ukrainian special services," the Coordination Headquarters said on its Telegram channel. Belarusian citizens who had been imprisoned on political grounds and were serving lengthy prison sentences were also handed over to Ukraine. Among them are well-known Belarusian public and political figures, including Maria Aleksandrova, Viktor Babariko, journalist Marina Zolotova, and others. "The released Belarusian citizens, after receiving the necessary medical care and at their…...

7+ hour, 21+ min ago (399+ words) I write as an American lawyer, a US citizen born in New York of Ukrainian origin. The United States is a mess and will need to clean house. Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah introduced the "Not a Trusted Organization Act," or "NATO Act" in the Senate earlier this year. Representative Massie is now fielding companion legislation in the House. What more can the Trump administration do to manifest clearly before the world that America under President Donald Trump has gone rogue? European leaders have recognized that today America is very ill, and so at least for the time being Europe has to deal with its own existential issues. Having America behind you at all times was very comforting, but the fact of the matter is that NATO without America must become a viable concept, at least in the near…...

7+ hour, 37+ min ago (193+ words) Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers of will begin paying compensation in cases where journalists are killed or injured while performing their professional duties. The relevant decision provides for one-time assistance through the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko reported. Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers of will begin paying compensation in cases where journalists are killed or injured while performing their professional duties. The relevant decision provides for one-time assistance through the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko reported. "We are making the first payment to the father of journalist Viktoria Roschyna, who died in Russian captivity. This program is provided for in the state budget for 2026. For the Ukrainian state, this is a matter of justice toward those who selflessly sought the truth, documented the facts of Russian crimes, and lost their…...

7+ hour, 37+ min ago (516+ words) Any peace deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine will only last if Moscow makes real concessions, including limiting the size of its armed forces and curbing its growing military budget, the EU's top diplomat has said. In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera published on Friday, Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, warned that without meaningful concessions from Moscow, Europe risks facing new conflicts elsewhere." "The problem for peace is Russia," Kallas said, adding: "Even if Ukraine received security guarantees, without concessions from the Russian side, we would have other wars, perhaps not in Ukraine but elsewhere." Her remarks come as U.S. officials continue shaping a peace proposal aimed at ending Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II " one that has to be acceptable to both Kyiv and Moscow." Russia lacks "genuine will for peace" Kallas…...