Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 12-07-2024

Zelensky says he “had a good and productive trilateral meeting” with Macron and US President-elect Trump, who was on his first overseas visit since winning re-election.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Donald Trump following the reopening ceremony for the world-famous medieval cathedral gutted by fire in 2019.

The event was attended by world leaders and their representatives, with this being Trump’s first overseas trip since his re-election on Nov. 5. Trump will officially become President at noon in Washington, DC on Jan. 20, 2025. 

The government, accused of creeping authoritarianism and steering the country toward Russia, said it would suspend talks to join the European Union, sparking a fresh wave of demonstrations.

Thousands of protesters marched in the Georgian capital Tbilisi Saturday for the 10th day of rallies sparked by the government’s decision to shelve EU accession talks following a disputed election.

Georgian police said they arrested 48 people during a crackdown on pro-EU protesters the day before.

Political turmoil in Romania with Russia suspected of meddling in presidential elections.

Romanian police raided houses on Saturday, a day after the top court cancelled the presidential vote in an unprecedented development following allegations of Russian interference in favor of the far-right frontrunner.

The court's shock move, just before the presidential run-off, opens the way for a new electoral process to start from scratch in the EU and NATO member state bordering war-torn Ukraine.

Slovakia blocks new EU sanctions on Russia

European Union countries failed on Friday to approve a 15th package of sanctions on Russia, which included an extension for the Czech Republic to import Russian oil-based products coming mainly through Slovakia, diplomats said.

Two member states blocked the passage over a disagreement about extending the time given to European companies disinvesting from Russia, diplomats said. EU members will come back to the package later, Reuters reported

Russian forces in Syria have suffered one of their biggest setbacks in recent years.

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

A U.S. federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company’s challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court’s opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though it’s unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting ans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement - AP

Romania's top court annulled an ongoing presidential election after accusations of Russian meddling and ruled on Friday the entire process, which had been due to conclude this weekend, would have to be re-run. The second round had been scheduled for Sunday and voting has already begun in polling stations abroad. It would have pitted Calin Georgescu, a far-right, pro-Russian candidate, against pro-European Union centrist leader Elena Lasconi. "The electoral process to elect Romania's president will be fully re-run, and the government will set a new date and ... calendar for the necessary steps," the court said in a statement. Georgescu scored single-digit numbers in opinion polls before the first round vote on Nov. 24 but then surged to a first-place finish that raised questions over the result. Georgescu wants to end Romanian support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion. If he won the presidency, it would upend the pro-Western politics of the EU and NATO member, pushing Romania closer to a belt of states in central and eastern Europe that have powerful populist, Russia-friendly politicians, including Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.

Trump is reportedly considering three approaches to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, none involve NATO membership—a contentious issue.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has captured global attention as the quest for peace continues to involve high-stakes negotiations, military strategies, and international politics. With Donald Trump poised to take office as the next US President, new potential scenarios for resolving the conflict have surfaced. Below are the key proposals and the challenges that lie ahead in securing lasting peace in Ukraine.

Three Paths to Peace: Trump’s Proposals

Major change in Syria as Assad’s forces and their Russian and Iranian backers forced to retreat.

Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani sought to reassure religious minorities on Saturday after Islamist-led fighters snatched key cities and swathes of territory from government control.

His comments online came a little over a week into a lightning offensive led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, who was last seen in images released by his office from a Sunday meeting with Iran's foreign minister in Damascus.

Ukrainian War Losses – A Lack of Clarity Might Undermine Ukraine’s National Interests.

According to The Economist, citing data from Western intelligence agencies, defense officials, open sources and the UALosses website, the news outlet reports that Ukraine may have lost 60,000 – 100,000 soldiers killed and 400,000 soldiers wounded.

President Zelenskyy has refuted the numbers. “Recently, some in, I believe, the American press reported that 80,000 Ukrainians had been killed. I want to tell you that, no, (the number of those killed is) less, much less,” Zelensky said while refusing to provide a detailed number of casualties.

What the Swiss press is saying about restricting protection status for Ukrainians fleeing the war.

For more than two years, the protection status S system has allowed refugees from Ukraine to be taken in by Switzerland in an expedited procedure. However, following Norway's example the Swiss parliament voted this week to restrict access to the protection status, stipulating that in future it will only be granted to Ukrainian refugees from occupied or disputed territories. The national press is divided.

Wailing sirens not sufficient grounds for asylum

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• Most Russian advances in recent weeks have been centred on three areas - the Pokrovsk axis, the Kurakhove axis, and the Velyka Novosilka axis, all in Donetsk oblast, in south-eastern Ukraine and closely connected. On the first, Russia has made gradual gains towards Pokrovsk - taking control of the town of Selydove and expanding the salient. Russian forces remain approximately 6-7 km from Pokrovsk itself.
• Russian forces are likely fighting within the centre of Kurakhove. Kurakhove forms an important section of the front line and its seizure would allow Russian forces to consolidate positions in the area and set conditions for further advances westwards.
• The Ukrainian Armed Forces have reportedly mounted a limited counter-attack to the north of Velyka Novosilka, retaking the village of Novyy Komar from Russian forces. Despite this, Russian efforts to cut off the supply routes on the northern approach to Velyka Novosilka and encircle the town continue. Russian forces are also pushing towards Velyka Novosilka from the south, recently capturing the village of Blahodatne.

President Zelensky welcomed the next batch of Copenhagen-provided F-16 fighter aircraft and commended Kyiv’s allies, saying it’s “leadership in protecting life that distinguishes Denmark.”

On social media Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the second delivery of F-16 “Viper” fighter aircraft from the Jutland peninsula.

“The second batch of F-16s for Ukraine from Denmark is already in Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on both Telegram and X / Twitter. “This is the leadership in protecting life that distinguishes Denmark.”

Ukraine has been reluctant to create concessional loans for the defense industry but have indicated it may feed the market with an extra $238 million – for those that pass compliance.

“We estimated the total demand for loans at Hr.10 billion ($238 million) for 16 companies out of 80 members in our association,” Serhii Honcharov, CEO of the National Association of Defense Industry Enterprises of Ukraine (NAUDI), told Kyiv Post. 

The Ukrainian defense industry waited for concessional loans starting from the second Russian invasion in February 2022. With this being a full-scale attack, Ukraine needed to establish mass-scale military production - and fast. 

Macron will meet with Trump and Zelensky before the Notre Dame events; unclear whether the three would hold a joint meeting and no direct Trump-Zelensky meeting has been officially confirmed.

US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday arrived in Paris to join other world leaders for the reopening of the French capital’s Notre Dame cathedral, celebrating its remarkably rapid restoration half a decade after the devastating fire.

Held up as an example of French creativity and resilience by President Emmanuel Macron, Notre Dame’s renaissance so soon after a 2019 blaze that destroyed its roof and spire comes at a difficult time for the country.

In an exclusive interview, Serhiy Sukhomlyn, the new head of the State Agency for the Restoration of Ukraine, describes the proposed change of focus within his ministry when the war ends.

Serhiy Sukhomlyn, who has recently been appointed as head of the Restoration Agency under the Ministry of Infrastructure, has extensive experience implementing energy-efficient and cost-effective projects. He served as the mayor of Zhytomyr for almost 10 years; an earlier report on how the city overcame its Soviet legacy and became a model of energy efficiency under his guidance can be found here.

On his appointment, it is evident that the agency's focus will shift from large-scale construction to more socially oriented and energy-efficient projects. During the interview, he discussed road repairs during the war, social housing projects for internally displaced persons, and the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of trying to restore old infrastructure to its pre-war state.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s obsession was triggered by the Ukrainian people’s first revolt against their autocratic leaders in downtown Kyiv in 2004.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initial desire to destroy Ukraine was seeded twenty years ago when he witnessed the Ukrainian people revolt against a tyrannical leadership and decided on a democratic future. Dissent over manipulation of a presidential election in late November 2004 was the actual beginning of the geopolitical spectacle that would grow into the biggest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

Some political experts viewed Ukraine’s Orange Revolution as a failed insurgence. The uprising rescinded a crooked presidential vote and ushered reformer Viktor Yushchenko into power, but did not produce the sort of political evolution the millions of protesting Ukrainians wanted. Instead Yushchenko’s term was full of internal bickering and attempts to accommodate the demands of his opponents. In 2010 he ended up losing the election to that Orange Revolution scoundrel Viktor Yanukovych.

The current setbacks faced by Russian forces in the face of rebel advances in Syria could have an impact that spreads far beyond that long-beleaguered Middle Eastern country.

Until recently, Russian policy in Syria has been relatively successful - especially compared with the setbacks US policy experienced in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, though, the Russian position in Syria seems unexpectedly vulnerable - and this could negatively affect Moscow’s influence throughout the Middle East.

The “Arab Spring” uprisings of 2011 toppled Arab dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. But the Assad regime in Syria was able to survive thanks to the military assistance provided by Russia and armed support from Iran and Hezbollah.

In a bid to further intimidate Western supporters of Ukraine, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has publicly requested that Putin deploy the Oreshnik missile system on Belarusian soil.

Russia plans to deploy its newly developed nuclear-capable Oreshnik [Hazel tree] hypersonic missiles in Belarus in the latter half of 2025, President Vladimir Putin announced during a televised meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Friday, Dec. 6.

The Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that Lukashenko had requested Putin to deploy the Oreshnik missile system on Belarusian soil.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian forces have not yet evacuated the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria as of December 6, but it remains unclear whether Russia will keep its vessels at the port as Syrian rebels continue to advance swiftly across regime-held territory.
• Russia appears to be redeploying at least some of its air defense assets that were defending Russia's Khmeimim Air Base in Syria, but the reason for this redeployment remains unclear at this time.
• The Kremlin continues to advance its strategic effort to de facto annex Belarus and further expand the Russian military’s presence in Belarus through the Union State framework.
• Lukashenko is likely trying to preserve Belarusian sovereignty against Moscow by advocating that Belarus control Russian weapons deployed in Belarus - an endeavor Lukashenko has historically failed at.
• The deployment of the Oreshnik missiles to Belarus does not significantly increase the immediate risks of intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) strikes against Ukraine or NATO states despite the Kremlin’s intensified nuclear saber-rattling.
• The Kremlin is scapegoating former Kursk Oblast Governor Alexei Smirnov for Russia's failure to adequately respond to Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov used his interview with an American media personality to reiterate Kremlin talking points that are intended to shape American foreign policy and achieve a US-Russia reset detrimental to US interests and on the Kremlin's terms.
• Western sanctions are reportedly degrading the overall quality of Russian drones, indicating that targeted sanctions are having some negative effects on the Russian defense industrial base (DIB).
• Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Vuhledar.
• The Russian military continues to lose parts of its officer corps, a resource that is difficult to replenish, as part of Russia's ever-increasing casualties.