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Ukraine Invasion
Defense Policy / Programs
Foreign Policy
News Reports

Ukraine Invasion

• The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.2022 to 08.12.2023 Ukraine MOD 08 Dec 2023
• Russia Uses Bombers To Launch Cruise Missile Attack Across Ukraine RFE/RL 08 Dec 2023 -- Russia resumed the use of strategic bombers for attacks on Ukraine on December 8 as it launched an air attack that killed one person and wounded several others in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.
• Ukraine's Energy Infrastructure Crumbling Under Russian Attacks VOA 08 Dec 2023 -- Russian airstrikes, shelling and bad weather have damaged Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving 500 settlements in intermittent energy blackouts.
• Donetsk People's Republic Shelled by Ukraine 10 Times in Past Day Sputnik 08 Dec 2023 -- Ukraine shelled the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) 10 times over the past day, the DPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes said in a statement.
• Ukraine Loses Over 1,560 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Week- MoD Sputnik 08 Dec 2023 -- Ukraine has lost more than 1,560 soldiers in the Donetsk direction over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.
• West Doubts Ukraine's Ability to Conduct Major Counteroffensive Until 2025 - Reports Sputnik 08 Dec 2023 -- The West believes Kiev will most likely fail to launch another significant counteroffensive until 2025, as the Ukrainian forces need time to recover after this year's failed military campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing Western diplomats and military strategists.
• New Ukrainian Brigades Lack Needed Vehicles, Have Obsolete Equipment - Report Sputnik 08 Dec 2023 -- According to a recent report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Western military aid to Ukraine has plummeted by 87% year-on-year from August to October, reaching its lowest since January 2022 of $2.3 billion.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Presentation of Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia President of Russia 08 Dec 2023 -- On the eve of Heroes of the Fatherland Day, the ceremony to present Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia took place in the Grand Kremlin Palace's St George Hall.
• Black Sea Fleet frigate Admiral Grigorovich joins Algerian Navy ships in naval drills in Mediterranean Sea Russia MoD 08 Dec 2023 -- The crew of the frigate Admiral Grigorovich of the Black Sea Fleet of the permanent group of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea takes part in the Joint Naval Drills 2023 with ships of the Navy of the Algerian People's National Army.

Foreign Policy

• Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's comment on the Joint Statement by the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia confirming the mutual intention to normalise relations and conclude a peace treaty Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 08 Dec 2023
• Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's comment on Venezuela-Guyana dispute over Essequibo's status Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 08 Dec 2023
• Australian statement on Russian cyber targeting of democratic processes Australia MFA 08 Dec 2023 -- The Australian Government joins the United Kingdom and other international partners in expressing serious concerns about attempts to use cyber operations to interfere with democratic processes.
• Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna condemns Russia's cyberattacks against the United Kingdom Estonia MFA 08 Dec 2023
• Iran, Russia urge immediate cessation of genocide in Gaza: FM IRNA 08 Dec 2023 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said that Iran and Russia called for immediate cessation of war and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.

News Reports

• Putin Says 'I Will Run' When Asked About Russia's Presidential Election In March RFE/RL 08 Dec 2023 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will run again for office in Russia's March presidential election in which he is expected to easily win a new six-year term and extend the longest rule of a Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin.
• Putin Confirms Run for Reelection VOA 08 Dec 2023 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed Friday he is running for another six-year term, one day after lawmakers in Russia's upper house of parliament set the date for the next presidential election for March 17, 2024.
• Vladimir Putin Announces 2024 Presidential Run Sputnik 08 Dec 2023 -- Russians will go to the polls for presidential elections in March 2024, with the incumbent presently enjoying overwhelming public support, according to polling by a number of Russian public opinion institutes.
• Russian President Putin says he will run for president in 2024 Press TV 08 Dec 2023 -- President Vladimir Putin of Russia has confirmed he will run for re-election next year, a move that can secure his leadership until at least 2030.
• Offhand Remark Or Political Theater? Putin's Announcement Belies Kremlin's Penchant For Pageantry RFE/RL 08 Dec 2023 -- For a Kremlin that has raised the production of meticulously orchestrated, pomp-filled, televised political spectacles to an art form of sorts, how Vladimir Putin went about announcing he would in fact be seeking another term as Russian president was a head-scratcher.
• The Week In Russia: Blaming The People For The 'Regime's Ideology' RFE/RL 08 Dec 2023 -- The Russian state ratchets up what Human Rights Watch calls its "perverse persecution" of LGBT people. The Kremlin gets a wartime "gift" from a divided U.S. Congress. And a new presidential election draws closer.
• Kremlin Propaganda on Uptick in Latin America VOA 08 Dec 2023 -- Javier Vrox, the host of a political program on a YouTube channel in Chile who constantly monitors social networks in his country, recently noticed an uptick in pro-Russian political messaging, which had already been common in the country.