Exclusives
 |
How Norway became a test target for Russia’s Arctic hybrid war. Since 2014, Moscow has escalated its use of grey-zone provocations and propaganda in Svalbard, aiming to undermine Norwegian sovereignty, a new report finds. |
 |
Belgium’s PM calls Ukrainian victory a “fairy tale” — and wants EU taxpayers to pay instead of Russia. “Who really believes that Russia will lose in Ukraine? It’s a fairy tale, a complete illusion,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told La Libre Belgique on 2 December. |
 |
Russia escalates spying on German army over Ukraine support, Berlin’s counterintelligence report finds. The report warns of increased intelligence activity targeting German troop deployments, weapon systems, and NATO-related operational infrastructure. |
 |
Europe now faces two strategic adversaries: Russia and the United States. Trump's security strategy calls for "cultivating resistance" against EU governments |
 |
Six times more than in America: the heartbreaking math behind Ukraine’s wartime Christmas dinner (INFOGRAPHIC). Fourth wartime holiday reveals crushing gap despite record harvest holding prices flat. |
Military
Frontline report: Russian waves collapse as bodies pile in anti-tank ditches under constant strikes — Pokrovsk sector becomes killing field as Ukraine's drones devastate assault after assault.
Ukrainian forces crush Russian mechanized assault near Pokrovsk under cover of bad weather — Russian troops attempted a morning advance on 10 December, using armored vehicles and poor weather as cover — but were stopped cold.
ISW: Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad will likely fall – but Russia will pay in time and blood — Geolocated footage shows Ukrainian units still operating along Donetska Railway despite Russian armored assaults.
Russian troops faking illness to avoid meat-grinder Pokrovsk, partisans claim — Entire groups reportedly seeking hospital admission; spike exceeds normal medical rates.
Ukraine strikes Russian oil platform in Caspian Sea in first-of-its-kind attack 900 km from Ukraine — The SBU's long-range drones reportedly hit the Filanovsky platform owned by Lukoil, halting extraction from over 20 wells.
Ukraine hits Russian chemical giant 700 km from border next to Estonia — The Akron plant makes products used in fertilizers — and as components for explosives — making it a military-adjacent target.
Another Russian shadow fleet tanker wrecked by Sea Baby drones in the Black Sea — Ukrainian Sea Baby drones hit the Dashan, a massive 164,000-ton vessel, as it tried to reach Russia's Novorossiysk under a Comoros flag.
Russia receives new batch of Su-34 bombers — same aircraft that dropped 860 bombs on Pokrovsk in single month — Russia's Su-34 bomber fleet grows larger as Ukraine still has no solution against glide bombs that can level buildings.
Russian glide bomb kills shop clerk and customer in Sumy border village — Strike hit building as people were inside; two others injured in Velyka Pysarivka.
Russia attacks 50 Ukrainian railway stations while trains carry war effort alone — Russian forces have destroyed nearly ten stations.
Frontline report: Russia couldn't fix its nuclear submarine, so it's leasing it to India for $2 billion — After two decades of failed overhauls, Moscow is exporting advanced weapons systems it can no longer maintain to generate foreign currency for its war in Ukraine.
Intelligence and technology
Russia uses European SIM cards to upgrade Shahed fleet, investigation finds — Russia has tested drones in European countries, Kazakhstan, Türkiye.
Ukraine's answer to fragment threats: $589 solution that meets NATO standards and works at -40°C — Ukraine develops a NATO-grade ballistic blanket, the first ever made domestically.
Finland makes drone training compulsory for all new soldiers — The Finnish military now includes drone warfare skills in every conscript's training starting in 2025.
Russia eyes Moldova's Transnistria as new threat axis toward Odesa, says Ukrainian intelligence — Sources say Moscow is fueling military buildup and deploying agents in Moldova's Russian-backed enclave to pressure Ukraine.
International
Zelenskyy: US wants Ukraine to withdraw from Donetsk for vague "special economic zone" – Kyiv may refuse — Russia wouldn't advance into the zone either, but Washington hasn't said who would govern it.
Budapest Memorandum 2.0: US peace plan offers Kyiv security "assurances", not guarantees — If Russia attacks, allies will "consult." If Ukraine defends itself, it loses everything.
Belgium risks becoming "new Hungary" as it blocks €210 billion Ukraine loan — Diplomats warn Belgium could lose influence in EU decision-making.
Humanitarian and social impact
Terrorist attack in Kyiv: bomb kills National Guardsman, second device explodes when medics arrive — National Guard patrol hit. IEDs used in both blasts.
67% of Crimea's repression targets one people: Crimean Tatars. The US peace plan would hand them to Russia — Crimean Tatars survived Stalin's deportation. Now they face Russia's repression.
Political and legal developments
"Merchants of death": Ukrainian families sue Intel, AMD, and Texas Instruments for chips found in Russian missiles that killed their children — Families say: "We don't care about the money, just make the missiles stop."
Lawsuits say Intel and AMD turned blind eye to Russia's missile use of their chips — Filed in Texas, the suits claim "willful ignorance" allowed US semiconductors into Russian and Iranian weapons.
Ukraine dismantles $2.4 million scheme — suspects stole state funds meant for tank armor — The mechanism: triple the price, pocket the difference.
Ukraine shares evidence on 185,000 war crimes with US law enforcement — Russia's crimes against 109 US citizens also documented.
Read our previous daily review here.
