President Biden defends continuing aid to the Ukraine…..
Biden keeps in direct touch with Ukraine President Zelensky….
Ukraine troops make small agains in the Zaporizhzhia region…….
Winter is coming to the region and the fight will further bog down…..
But?
During that time ?
Ukraine pilots will be completeing their F-16 training and the US heavt MI Tanks are now in country…..
Kazakhstan joins Western countries in banning ceratin good to Russia that could harm the Ukraine….
NATO steps up Naval patrols in the Baltic Sea witrh suspicious acrtiving against undersea pipelines abnd communications cables….
The World Bank is reporting that the Ukraine economy is actually growing with the conflict with Russia ongoing….
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Ukraine’s parliament has voted overwhelmingly to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow, despite the church’s insistence that it is fully independent and supportive of Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders.
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A Russian-American journalist has been detained in Russia on charges of violating its foreign agents law, reportedly due to her coverage of Russia’s military mobilisation for its invasion of Ukraine. Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty’s (RFE-RL) Tatar-Bashkir service, was detained on Wednesday.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he wants to build a “forward-looking” relationship with Russia as he met with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, state media reported. The veteran envoy’s two-day visit is expected to lay the groundwork for a trip to the country by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was invited by Kim last month at a high-profile summit in Russia’s far east.
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US President Joe Biden was set to deliver only the second Oval Office address of his term on Thursday night to make the case for US backing of Ukraine and Israel. The administration plans to request billions of dollars for additional military assistance for Ukraine and Israel.
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Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy held a telephone conversation before Biden’s address, in which the Ukrainian president thanked Biden and Congress for supplying long-range ATACMS missiles and said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian soldiers “are successfully using them on the battlefield”.
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Ukraine claimed to make a small incremental gain of 400 metres to the south-west of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region. Military spokesperson Oleksandr Stupun said the southern advance was still difficult because of Russian minefields and heavily fortified defences.
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Kazakhstan has banned exports to Russia of 106 goods that could be used in the Ukraine war after the ex-Soviet state vowed not to help its ally circumvent western sanctions, local media said Thursday. On a visit to Berlin last month, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his country will “follow the sanctions regime”, amid suspicions Moscow is still receiving vital goods via Kazakhstan.
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The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said the EU must collectively continue to financially support Ukraine in future. “We have a clear stance here: This aid for Ukraine, for the financial stability of the country, we will have to provide this jointly as Europeans,” Scholz told lawmakers, while adding “that this cannot all be solved with additional funds”.
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Ukraine’s parliament gave initial approval for the 2024 budget, which will increase funding for the army and national defence. Finance minister Serhiy Marchenko said the government’s priorities next year included accumulating funds for defence and security, and securing social payments for the population “to bring Ukraine’s victory closer”.
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Nato is stepping up patrols in the Baltic Sea after recent damage to undersea infrastructure. “The increased measures include additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights. A fleet of four Nato minehunters is also being dispatched to the area,” Nato said in a statement.
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Finland’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday it had blocked three planned property transactions involving Russian buyers on grounds that allowing the acquisitions to take place could hamper the defence of Finnish territory……
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The Ukraine Economy crawling back even as the conflict with Russia drags on
The World Bank estimated in a recent report that private consumption in Ukraine would grow 5 percent this year, after contracting by more than a quarter last year. In cities like Kyiv and Dnipro, which are far from the combat zone but remain under threat from Russian air attacks, customers are returning to reopened restaurants and resuming shopping.
“Today, most Ukrainians understand that the war may be prolonged, and they need to continue living in these new circumstances,” said Andriy Cherukha, the founder of Etnodim, which produces vyshyvankas, the traditional embroidered Ukrainian shirts. He said sales in his shop had tripled this year compared with last, driven in part by a rise in patriotism.
Ukrainians, Mr. Cherukha added, “continue to work and purchase clothing and other items that may not be considered essential but are a way to maintain a sense of normalcy.”
Olga Kustenko, a co-owner of the First Point Espresso Bar in the trendy Podil neighborhood of Kyiv, said people needed routines to cope with the war. Customers have returned to her cafe, she said, because they look for a familiar place to spend time. She opened a second cafe this spring to meet growing demand.
The stronger-than-expected spending has prompted financial institutions to upgrade their economic forecasts. Last week, the International Monetary Fund predicted that the country’s total output would rise 2 percent this year, slightly less optimistic than the World Bank’s forecast but a significant upgrade from an initial forecast for a 3 percent decline….