Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 12-04-2024

French lawmakers ousts Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a historic no-confidence vote, plunging President Macron’s government into crisis as he repeats that Europe must continue backing Ukraine.

French lawmakers on Wednesday voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier after just three months in office, a historic move that plunged the country further into political chaos.

For the first time in over sixty years, the National Assembly lower house toppled the incumbent government, approving a no-confidence motion that had been proposed by the hard left but which crucially was backed by the far right headed by Marine Le Pen.

The US has sanctioned five people and four companies linked to a Russian group using digital assets to avoid international sanctions and fund the war in Ukraine with illegal money.

On Wednesday, the United States unveiled sanctions on five people and four entities allegedly involved in a global network of “sanctions circumvention on behalf of Russian elites,” the Treasury Department said.

The parties targeted are associated with or leverage the TGR Group, which the department called “an extensive sanctions evasion and money laundering network.”

Between May and October 2022, military transport planes that were under President Putin’s direct control transported groups of Ukrainian children to Russia, the study reveals.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration used government planes and resources to illegally deport Ukrainian children, according to a report by the Yale Humanitarian Research Laboratory (Yale HRL), as cited by Reuters on Wednesday.

The report provides detailed evidence of a systematic Kremlin program to adopt and assimilate Ukrainian children into Russian society forcibly.

Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian tank, several armored vehicles, and decimated Russian infantry during recent clashes that are expected to become increasingly bloody.

Ukrainian troops have successfully repelled at least two Russian assaults in the Kurakhove sector of the Donetsk region in recent days, according to a report from the Khortytsia operational-strategic group on Telegram.

On the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 3, the group reported that Ukrainian paratroopers had thwarted a Russian assault, neutralizing four infantry fighting vehicles (BMP).

The Constitutional Court has approved the result of the first round of the presidential election, meaning that the far-right populist Călin Georgescu can compete in Sunday’s runoff vote.

The social democratic PSD has emerged from Romania's parliamentary elections as the strongest party with 22 percent of the vote and could now form a four-way coalition with three other traditional parties. However, three right-wing populist parties together received around 32 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court has approved the result of the first round of the presidential election, meaning that the far-right populist Călin Georgescu can compete in Sunday's runoff vote.

A vote against the minimal state

After a week of protests in Georgia there is no sign of retreat in the face of a brutal police crackdown and now the barricades are going up there is a sense of déjà vu for some in Ukraine.

The Kyiv Post spoke with protesters and journalists from Tbilisi who are directly on the scene and analyzed the situation in Georgia.

Protests in the country have been ongoing since late October, following the discovery of massive fraud in the parliamentary elections. While the protests resumed with mass demonstrations on Nov. 28, the situation escalated on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 after the police violently dispersed protesters, beating people severely. This marked the move to a more violent phase of the protests.

Chuck Pfarrer discusses explains that Russia is showing all of the signs of having fallen into a quagmire with no strategy or hope of being able to get out, with Kyiv Post’s Jason Smart.

The intensifying attacks on Kherson are likely part of a broader Russian strategy to apply pressure on Ukraine ahead of potential negotiations following Trump’s inauguration.

Russia is amassing forces and equipment for a potential offensive on Kherson, including assembling 300 boats to cross the Dnipro River, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional State Administration, in comments to the Financial Times.

“Russia wants to launch another offensive here,” said Prokudin, adding that Russian forces had assembled “300 boats to cross the river.”

Anna Tsivilyova, the reported daughter of Putin’s cousin, said that the government had received 48,000 appeals from relatives related to the identification of missing soldiers.

A relative of Russian President Vladimir Putin accidentally revealed a confidential figure that gives a possible official insight into the extent of Russia's war dead in Ukraine.

Video published by the independent Astra Telegram channel on Tuesday showed Anna Tsivilyova, the reported daughter of Putin's cousin and a deputy defence minister, saying that the government had received tens of thousands of appeals from relatives related to the tracking and identification of missing soldiers through DNA samples.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief declaration of martial law has plunged him into the most severe leadership crisis of his tenure, as the opposition bloc pushes for his impeachment, accusing him of treason. Six opposition parties, including the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), jointly submitted a bill to the National Assembly, Wednesday, to oust Yoon. They plan to vote on the bill as early as Friday morning. The latest developments follow the president's abrupt declaration of martial law at 10:23 p.m. on Tuesday, citing the urgent need to eradicate "anti-state forces," targeting the opposition, which has repeatedly blocked his personnel appointments and budget proposals. While around 280 soldiers entered the Assembly compound and even the main building, 190 lawmakers managed to reach the main hall and voted at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, demanding that the president lift the martial law. As the law requires the president to comply with the Assembly's vote, Yoon announced his decision to comply at around 4:20 a.m., bringing an end to the six-hour crisis - Korea Times

Riot police used water cannons and tear gas against protesters taking part in the sixth consecutive night of protests in Tbilisi after the Georgian Interior Ministry warned protesters against committing violent acts. Special forces started dispersing demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament building after the ministry said some of them had insulted law enforcement officers and thrown various blunt objects, pyrotechnics, and inflammable items in their direction. The Caucasus country has been rocked by demonstrations since the ruling Georgian Dream party announced last week it would halt accession talks on Georgia's application to join the European Union - RFE/RL

Russia’s Dyagilevo airbases in Ryazan and the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk were attacked by Ukrainian forces. Russia claims to have shot down 24 drones.

Russian media outlets have reported that in the early hours of Wednesday, Dec 4, a series of explosions occurred near the Dyagilevo military airfield in the Russian city of Ryazan. Videos of the incident have already surfaced online.

Additionally, an attack on the Black Sea port in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, was also reported, according to Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).

Rutte also urged alliance members to give Ukraine enough weapons to change the course of the war.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday that Russia was giving support to North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes in exchange for Pyongyang sending troops to use in the war with Ukraine.

"In return for troops and weapons, Russia is providing North Korea with support for its missile and nuclear programmes," Rutte told journalists after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

Atesh report increased Russian defensive preparations on the peninsula including increased surveillance, traffic and pedestrian checkpoints, and a significant rise in Russian military presence.

The Atesh guerrilla movement says it has uncovered a mix of genuine and bogus defense facilities appearing in the strategically significant Yevpatoria district of occupied Crimea. The decoy positions are reportedly created to divert attention, from legitimate Russian defensive positions alongside the fakes.

Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate (HUR) claims there are two North Korean special forces brigades in Russia’s Kursk region and food supply from the Russian army isn’t great.

A South Korean soldier fighting on Ukraine’s side on Wednesday published an appeal to his North Korean “brothers” currently to the Russian Federation to fight on the side of the Kremlin to save their lives and desert, and promised North Koreans reaching Ukrainian lines would be given “new lives” in a democratic state.

The video announcement first made public on a longstanding pro-Ukraine information platform called InformNapalm showed a masked man with Asian facial features, in an unmarked uniform, standing in front of an armored HUMMV combat truck.

The hero city, just 35 kilometers from Russia, is bombarded daily but refuses to surrender, is rebuilding its infrastructure, accepts internally displaced people, and planning for the future.

The residents of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv have lived under constant threat of attack from Russia. Since the first days of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion this large city, located just about 35 kilometers from the Russian border, has experienced massive destruction unlike any other major city in Ukraine, according to its mayor, Ihor Terekhov, in an exclusive interview with Kyiv Post.

Kharkiv is one of Ukraine’s largest cities, historically playing an important role as a cultural, scientific, and industrial center and, until 1934, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR. As a result of its proximity to the border, the city has found itself on the front line of the Russian invasion, often subjected to bombardments and attacks.

The Moscow-led local prosecutor’s office said a 45-year-old unnamed man had sent the locations of Russian air defense units in Kerch to Ukrainian intelligence in September of last year.

Russia on Wednesday sentenced a man in annexed Crimea to 15 years in prison on treason charges, accusing him of spying for Ukraine, in the latest such imprisonment.

Moscow has regularly handed out heavy sentences to those it accuses of spying for Ukraine amid its nearly three-year offensive, with such cases especially common in the Black Sea peninsula, seized by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.

Germany’s Helsing defense company announced on Monday that the final production versions of its HX-2 AI attack drone were rolling off the production line and would soon be on their way to Kyiv.

The co-founders of the German defense AI firm Helsing announced on Dec. 2 that production of their HX-2 “Karma” kamikaze drone was now in full swing, with the first few hundred of almost 4,000 of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) earmarked for Ukraine, to be delivered this month. The total was included in a memorandum of cooperation signed between Ukraine’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and the company in February.

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he had been “very pleased that the delivery of these drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology is already underway” according to the German news publication Bild.

Opposition lawmakers and staffers barricaded the National Assembly with furniture, blocking armed soldiers. Parliament revoked martial law, forcing troops to withdraw by dawn.

South Korean opposition parties said Wednesday they had submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law.

"We've submitted an impeachment motion prepared urgently," representatives for six opposition parties including the main Democratic Party said at a live press briefing, adding they would discuss when to put it to a vote, but it could come as soon as Friday.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned Trump of the global risks posed by China, Iran, and North Korea if Ukraine signs a peace deal on Russia’s terms.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned US President-elect Donald Trump of the serious threat posed by China, Iran, and North Korea if Ukraine is forced to sign a peace agreement on Russia’s terms, emphasizing that strengthening ties with these US adversaries could endanger American foreign policy, as reported by European Pravda.

Rutte urged Trump to remain in the Alliance and continue supporting Ukraine. He also raised concerns about Russia supplying missile technologies to North Korea and funding Iran, which would support terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

The US president-elect pledged to promptly resolve the Ukraine war, claiming he would efficiently negotiate a ceasefire agreement between Zelensky and Putin.

Updated at 8:55. Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, dismissed claims that the Ukrainian military was ordered to hold territory in Russia's Kursk region until Donald Trump’s potential inauguration.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine did not receive any orders to hold the Kursk region until Trump’s inauguration for future 'exchange,'” Kovalenko said.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russia is evacuating naval assets from its base in Tartus, Syria, which may suggest that Russia does not intend to send significant reinforcements to support Syrian President Bashar al Assad's regime in the near term.
• The US announced additional military assistance worth $725 million for Ukraine on December 2.
• Russian officials continue to perpetuate information operations about prisoner-of-war (POW) exchanges in order to portray Ukraine as unwilling to negotiate and to undermine Ukrainians' trust in their government.
• India is reportedly attempting to decouple its defense industry from Russia as it increases cooperation with Western defense companies and builds up its own defense industrial base (DIB).
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and regained lost positions near Kupyansk. Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Velyka Novosilka.
• Russian forces reportedly continued to suffer significant personnel and armored vehicle losses throughout November 2024 as they attempted to maintain intensified offensive operations in eastern Ukraine.

A new Yale report links Putin to systematic deportation and the ‘Russification’ of Ukrainian children; NATO avoids commentary on Kyiv’s push for Alliance membership; AFU repels heavy Russian assaults.

A new Yale report reveals Russia’s direct involvement in the deportation and “Russification” of 314 Ukrainian children, with evidence supporting potential charges of crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, NATO resists Ukraine’s membership push and ongoing heavy fighting sees Ukrainian forces repel intense Russian assaults across multiple sectors.

The ‘Russification’ of Ukrainian Children

A new report from Yale University has uncovered evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government were directly involved in a systematic program aimed at deporting Ukrainian children to Russia. The research, funded by the US State Department, identifies 314 Ukrainian children taken from Russian-occupied territories in the early months of the war. These children were then placed with Russian families as part of a broader Kremlin-backed “Russification” effort, according to Reuters.