Travel, property, and local info for Ukraine

11+ hour, 20+ min ago (309+ words) Russian overnight strikes killed two, injured several, and cut power to tens of thousands as drones hit energy facilities in four Ukrainian regions, officials said. Russian drone and missile attacks overnight killed two people, injured several others, and caused major power outages across four Ukrainian regions as strikes on energy infrastructure intensified. Russian forces launched overnight attacks on energy infrastructure in four Ukrainian regions, leaving tens of thousands without power and causing multiple casualties, the Ministry of Energy reported on Telegram. According to the ministry, more than 17,500 consumers in the Kharkiv region and around 5,000 in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia, as well as residents in the Kherson region, were left without electricity. In the Odesa region, a drone strike ignited a fire at an energy facility and damaged equipment, regional governor Oleh Kiper reported. "Unfortunately, an employee was injured and hospitalized in…...

11+ hour, 23+ min ago (266+ words) The detentions of Mogherini and senior EU diplomat Stefano Sannino have sent shockwaves through Brussels" diplomatic circles as the fraud probe widens. Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and two others have been formally accused of procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional secrecy, the European Public Prosecutor"s Office said on Wednesday. The three individuals were detained on Tuesday as part of an EU fraud investigation and have now been released while the investigation is ongoing, EPPO said, adding they were not considered a flight risk. EPPO referred to the other two suspects as a senior staff member at the College of Europe in Bruges and a senior official from the European Commission. Three sources told Reuters that one of the detainees was senior EU diplomat Stefano Sannino. Neither Mogherini nor Sannino could be…...

11+ hour, 23+ min ago (317+ words) Norway, the Netherlands and Germany announced on Wednesday during a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels that they will finance a new package of NOK5 billion ($500 million) under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative for the purchase of US weapons for Ukraine. The Norwegian government said the military supplies include air defense systems, ammunition and other necessary equipment. The supplies are coordinated by NATO, including through the NSATU. "It is important that Europe and Norway continue their strong support for Ukraine, both politically and economically, as well as militarily. The goal is to contribute to a solution to the war on Ukraine's terms. Norway will continue its extraordinary support for Ukraine in 2026," Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said. The support provided through PURL is complementary to other ongoing initiatives in support of Ukraine, as well as a number of…...

11+ hour, 34+ min ago (299+ words) China can play a crucial role in guiding Vladimir Putin's Russia to make the right decision," Macron's foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot told French radio. French President Emmanuel Macron is due in Beijing on Wednesday, where he is expected to put pressure on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to help secure a ceasefire in Ukraine and discuss trade relations. Macron, on fourth state visit to China since taking office in 2017, will meet Xi and Premier Li Qiang at the capital's Great Hall of the People before heading to Chengdu, where two giant pandas loaned to France have recently been returned. Efforts to bring an end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine are expected to be on the agenda. Macron made similar appeals during his last trip to China in April 2023, as well as during Xi's visit to France in May…...

11+ hour, 47+ min ago (353+ words) Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Wednesday EU plans to use Russian assets to fund a loan for Ukraine do not satisfy his country's objections, as the bloc's executive readied to lay out the legal details. "Our concerns are being downplayed. The texts the (European) Commission will table today do not address our concerns in a satisfactory manner," Prevot told journalists at a NATO meeting. "We demand that the risks Belgium is facing as a result of this scheme are fully covered." The EU has proposed using frozen central bank assets, the vast majority of which are held in Belgium, to fund a new 140-billion-euro loan for Kyiv. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is expected to set out the legal framework for the plan later on Wednesday. EU officials insist the initiative is vital to keep Ukraine afloat as…...

11+ hour, 57+ min ago (412+ words) On Wednesday, December 3, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference entitled "Presentation of the Economic Security Index 2025." Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference 'Presentation of the Economic Security Index 2025' On Wednesday, December 3, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference entitled "Presentation of the Economic Security Index 2025." Participants: President of the International Institute of Freedom Yaroslav Romanchuk, Director of the International Institute of Freedom Mykhailo Kamchatny; Founder of the sociological company Active Group Andriy Yeremenko (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires registration on the spot with press ID cards. Citizens' Assessment of Situation in Country, Trust in Social Institutions, Politicians, Officials and Public Figures Russian troops bombed field hospital in territory of Azovstal, there are casualties " Azov Press Conference: POW Russian army pilots Protection of Children of Ukraine: free online…...

12+ hour, 18+ min ago (829+ words) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hopes that European allies and Canada will continue to contribute to the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine under NATO's Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative and expects that this amount will be at least $1 billion per month next year. Rutte hopes PURL funding for Ukraine will reach $1 bln per month NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hopes that European allies and Canada will continue to contribute to the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine under NATO's Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative and expects that this amount will be at least $1 billion per month next year. "There have been a lot of pledges and I hope to be able to make some announcements later today. If you look at the overall numbers, we are now at $4 billion, so we are really on track to $1 billion…...

12+ hour, 31+ min ago (110+ words) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that the European Union has reached a decision on complete independence from Russian energy sources. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that the European Union has reached a decision on complete independence from Russian energy sources. "Today is a truly historic day for our Union. Last night we reached a preliminary agreement on the Commission's proposal to completely abandon Russian fossil fuels. We are turning this page, and we are turning it over forever. This is the dawn of a new era, an era of complete energy independence for Europe from Russia," she said in Brussels on Wednesday....

13+ hour, 3+ min ago (453+ words) Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Marco Rubio said that the United States is currently trying to make diplomatic efforts to find an acceptable compromise for both sides in the Russian-Ukrainian war, but the issues of territory and security guarantees for Ukraine remain problematic. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to the President of the United States Marco Rubio said that the United States is currently trying to make diplomatic efforts to find an acceptable compromise for both sides in the Russian-Ukrainian war, but the issues of territory and security guarantees for Ukraine remain problematic. The US Secretary of State once again noted that this is "not our war," but the United States is involved because "the only leader in the world who can negotiate with both sides and make a…...

13+ hour, 8+ min ago (673+ words) On the night of December 3 (from 18:00 on December 2), the enemy attacked with 111 Shahed, Gerbera type strike UAVs and drones of other types from the directions: Kursk, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk - Russian Federation, Chauda " temporarily occupied Crimea, more than 60 of them " Shahed UAVs, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Telegram on Wednesday. Ukraine destroys 83 of 111 Russian air attack vehicles overnight On the night of December 3 (from 18:00 on December 2), the enemy attacked with 111 Shahed, Gerbera type strike UAVs and drones of other types from the directions: Kursk, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk - Russian Federation, Chauda " temporarily occupied Crimea, more than 60 of them " Shahed UAVs, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Telegram on Wednesday. "As of 08:00, air defense systems shot down/suppressed 83 enemy UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera and other types in the north, south and east of…...