WORLD BRIEFING: December 13, 2024

After days of relative calm, a massive Russian missile and drone attack hit Ukraine in the nighttime and early morning hours of Friday. In total, almost 100 missiles and about 200 drones were launched. President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was one of the largest-ever attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector. (One estimate pegged the Kremlin’s cost of the attack at $1-billion). Power installations far as Lviv and Ternopil in western Ukraine were hit - just as a brutal cold snap hits. Ukrainian officials claimed about 160 missiles and drones were intercepted but the damage is clearly widespread. At around noon, the UN’s International Atomic and Energy Agency said that five out of Ukraine’s nine nuclear power plants have “reduced power output” due to the morning Russian missiles and drone attacks‬. Because of the attacks, power outages of at least ten hours are planned for various regions of Ukraine. Maxim Timchenko, the head of the major private power provider DTEK said: “Right now, multiple DTEK teams are urgently assessing damage to our power stations and deploying all possible resources to restoring power for the people of Ukraine.” The overnight temperature in Kyiv is forecast to drop to -8 to -10C and a high of just -3C tomorrow. Elsewhere, the mercury is expected to plunge to as low as -15C. The Russian strikes were clearly timed to maximize the pain for civilians ‬

The outlines of President-elect Donald Trump’s initial efforts to end the war in Ukraine are starting to emerge for the first time. The main takeaway: Europe would have to shoulder most of the burden of supporting Kyiv with troops to oversee a cease-fire and weapons to deter Russia. At a meeting in Paris on Dec. 7, Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron that he doesn’t support Ukrainian membership in NATO, but that he wanted to see a strong, well-armed Ukraine emerge from any cessation of hostilities. - WSJ

Israel said on Thursday that its military would stay in Syrian territory it now controls until “a new force” was established that met its security demands. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the sudden collapse of the Assad regime had created a vacuum on Israel’s border with Syria, and that “Israel will not permit jihadi groups to fill that vacuum and threaten Israeli communities.” Mr. Netanyahu said Israeli soldiers would deploy in Syrian territory only “temporarily,” but did not give any clear timeline for their departure - NYT

South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol justified his short-lived martial law, calling it a decisive act of governance that is not subject to investigation or judicial review and does not amount to rebellion. He said he would fight impeachment or investigation, making it clear that he will not accept an orderly resignation sought by the ruling bloc. Yoon made the remarks in a hastily planned national address on Thursday morning, nine days after he issued the martial decree and two days before a second vote to impeach him will take place at the National Assembly. The first vote last Saturday was scrapped after ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers boycotted it, causing it to fail to meet the quorum. The president said he issued the martial rule "to prevent the collapse of free democracy and constitutional order and normalize the state's function." - Korea Times

Vladimir Putin will not join a host of world leaders at the January inauguration of Donald Trump, according to the Kremlin. Dmitry Peskov, the Russian leader’s spokesman, said Thursday that an invitation to the ceremony has not been slipped into the mailbox in Moscow, according to TASS. And to add insult to injury, the dagger in Putin’s heart might be twisted as reports suggest Chinese President Xi Jinping has been invited to the ceremony in Washington, D.C. on January 20. However, it is not yet clear whether he has accepted. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is also considering whether to attend, a source familiar with his plans told CBS News. Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s transition spokesperson and incoming press secretary, claimed it’s a party everyone wants to be at. “World leaders are lining up to meet with President Trump because they know he will soon return to power and restore peace through American strength around the globe,” she told CBS - Daily Beast ‬

A mysterious, daytime apartment fire in the center of the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa Thursday has raised concerns about the lethal combination of hours long power outages and freezing cold temperatures. After weeks of Russian rocket and drone strikes on critical infrastructure, power outages are reaching up to ten hours or more in some regions. Meanwhile, desperate families are turning to desperate measures to keep themselves warm - including heating via gas stoves in confined spaces. An entire family in the eastern city of Krivij Ruh was reported to have perished through suffocation last month after using a gas stove to keep warm. So far, the beleaguered Odesa mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov, who is believed to have a tight relationship with crooked local developers, has not commented on the issue

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls on Syrian authorities to take decisive action to protect journalist safety, hold accountable those responsible for the killing, imprisonment, and silencing of members of the media during the country’s 13-year civil war, and to allow journalists and media workers safe access to information and locations to cover events, without risking being detained or questioned for their work.

So far, CPJ research shows:

• 141 journalists killed in Syria between 2011 and 2024. This includes 23 murders and at least six deaths in government custody.

• Syria ranked number one on CPJ’s 2023 Global Impunity Index and has been featured prominently for the last 11 years.

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• At least five journalists were imprisoned in Syria at the time of CPJ’s 2023 prison census.

A Belarusian tourist in Thailand faces charges after attacking police and security guards in Phuket while extremely drunk — and his wife and children are returning home without him. Police were called to the area in front of a hotel on Wednesday where a foreign man was causing trouble. On arrival they were confronted by a large foreigner wearing only a pair of underpants, later identified as Siarhei Asychuk, 39. A video taken by a bystander showed the man drunk, running around wildly and fighting with police and security guards trying to catch him. He was brought under control and taken to Karon police station. Mr Asychuk was charged with disturbing the peace and assaulting police. He had travelled to Thailand with his wife and three children and they were booked to return to home on Wednesday, police said. Mr Asychuk's family had visited him at the police station, and they were returning to Belarus as planned. The husband was held in custody and was due to appear in court on Thursday, police said. - Bangkok Post

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