Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 07-12-2024

The resolution proposed by Kyiv and passed by the UN General Assembly demands Moscow’s troops leave the Zaporizhzhia NPP and return it to Kyiv’s control. Votes against came from the usual suspects.

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on the safety and protection of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, especially the Zaporizhzhia NPP, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on X (formerly Twitter).

The UN passes nuclear safety resolution

New debt conditions set by Eurobond holders aren’t appropriate for a country at war – analysts suggest bonds backed by Western guarantees or proposals mirroring the EU Facility Program as alternatives

Eurobond holders' debt restructuring proposal to Ukraine’s government fails to consider the country’s current wartime situation and is “excessively harsh,” Ukraine’s RRR4U economics think tank consortium report concludes. 

Though both parties confirmed they are in favor of finding a solution during debt restructuring negotiations, RRR4U found that the creditor’s stance could result in Ukraine defaulting if an agreement is not reached in August 2024. 

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

Russia is believed to be behind a foiled plot to assassinate the head of Europe’s largest arms manufacturer over his company’s support for Ukraine, according to NATO diplomats. Two senior alliance diplomats said the alleged conspiracy against Armin Papperger, chief executive of Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall, was being treated as part of Russia’s wider sabotage and hybrid attack campaign against European NATO states. The plot was first reported by CNN. A person familiar with Papperger’s security said that the measures around the defense boss were “at the highest level” — similar to the protection of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. A spokesperson for Scholz declined to comment, but Papperger told the Financial Times that Berlin had established a “great level of security around my person.” Although Papperger said he could not confirm details of the plot, he said he believed the outline contained the original CNN report, which said that US intelligence uncovered the effort and alerted German authorities, who were then able to foil the plot. “I think CNN is not just looking up at the sky,” he said when asked about the validity of the US broadcaster’s story. – FT

Despite billions of dollars in additional weapons and security assistance that NATO announced this week, allied officials said Ukraine would not be ready to launch a dramatic counteroffensive or retake large swaths of territory from Russia until next year. Donations of missiles, combat vehicles, ammunition and air defenses from the United States and European countries will take weeks, if not months, to reach the front lines. Some of the newly committed weapons have not yet been bought or built. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said long-anticipated F-16s fighter jets would be delivered to Ukraine this summer. But even then, they might be used mostly defensively, as allies debated on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington whether the warplanes could fly into Russian airspace to attack. Separately, a senior US defense official said the Ukrainians would remain on the defensive for the next six months, but in a constant churn on the battlefield that would ultimately fail to gain significant ground. Both officials spoke on the condition that they not be identified in keeping with alliance protocols. Last spring, Mr. Zelensky had asked for seven sophisticated Patriot air defense systems to defend Ukraine’s cities but came up far short at the summit. Instead, Ukraine will receive three additional Patriot batteries: two from Germany and Romania that were previously announced, and one from the United States. – NYT

Western intelligence agencies had identified several suspects linked to the plan against Papperger, according to German weekly Spiegel.

The Kremlin on Friday dismissed a report that Russia was plotting to assassinate the chief executive of a major German arms maker supplying weaponry to Ukraine.

Citing five unidentified US and Western officials, CNN reported Thursday that the United States informed Germany that the Russian government had a plan to kill Armin Papperger, the head of Rheinmetall.

Kyiv says all weapons were shot down and Ukraine’s only airfield ever to handle frontline US combat aircraft was undamaged. Russia has been pounding the base repeatedly for some time.

Russian strike planners on Friday launched a focused but, according to Kyiv statements, unsuccessful attack against the Khmelnytsky region air base in Starokostyantyniv. The Ukrainian airfield is considered to be the best prepared to handle soon-to-arrive American F-16 fighter jets.

Kremlin Tu-95 “Bear” bombers reportedly launched five Kh-101 cruise missiles – the same weapon responsible for a bloody attack on a Kyiv children’s hospital on Monday – at the Ukrainian Air Force’s main bomber base shortly before midnight Thursday-Friday.

Four explosions blasted the Russian-occupied Mariupol International Airport, where the Russian military bases air defense systems, the mayor’s advisor said.

Multiple explosions rocked occupied Mariupol International Airport, where Russia bases air defense systems, on Friday afternoon, Petro Andriushchenko, the advisor to the mayor, told Kyiv Post.

Andriushchenko said that around 12:20 p.m. Mariupol residents reported six explosions. Two were from Russian air defense hitting its targets. Four more came from the airport, he said.

How is the Russia-Ukraine war viewed in Latin America, and what are the different positions and narratives there? What is the impact of Russian propaganda?

Though Ukraine’s membership was not on the agenda, NATO pledged long-term aid for Ukraine even as future US continued participation in the Alliance remains uncertain.

The three-day NATO summit in Washington – which commemorated the bloc’s 75th anniversary – concluded with an extensive list of aid to Ukraine and what the bloc called Kyiv’s “irreversible path” to NATO membership.

Apart from the typical, firm condemnation of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the conference also criticized Iran and North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war and called China a “decisive enabler” for the invasion.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• The average daily Russian casualties (killed and wounded in Ukraine throughout May and June 2024, increased to conflict highs of 1262 and 1163 respectively. In total Russia likely lost (killed and wounded in excess of 70,000 personnel over the past two months.
• The uptick in losses reflects Russia's opening of the new front in the Kharkiv region, while maintaining the same rate of offensive operations along the reminder of the front. Although this new approach has increased the pressure on the frontline, an effective Ukrainian defence and a lack of Russian training reduces Russia's ability to exploit any tactical successes, despite attempting to stretch the frontline further.
• Russia's casualty rate will likely continue to average above 1,000 a day over the next two months as Russia continues to try to overmatch Ukrainian positions with mass.

In his latest Telegram post the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council gives his customary warped analysis of NATO’s Washington summit and what peace negotiations would mean to Moscow.

On his Telegram channel on Wednesday, former Russian president and prime minister Dmitriy Medvedev took yet another opportunity to denigrate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and whether Kyiv is really seeking peace. In his distorted world view it’s an attempt to use negotiation as a weapon against the Kremlin.

Medvedev said that Kyiv had used the opportunity presented by the NATO Heads of States summit in Washington to “once again add new notes to the determination of the corrupt Ukrainian elite to begin negotiations, putting military operations on pause. The question is, is this beneficial for Russia?”

The signing took place during a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives of top US defense firms on his visit to Washington.

Ukroboronprom, Ukraine’s state-owned arms conglomerate, signed an agreement with US defense firm Northrop Grumman to create production of NATO-standard medium-caliber munitions.

Northrop Grumman’s site, under the “Medium Caliber Ammunition” section, listed 30x113mm, 30x173mm, 40x180mm and 50x228mm munitions for its Bushmaster chain guns, which are found on vehicles such as the Bradley fighting vehicle (BFV) seen in Ukraine.

Correcting himself, Biden said, “We’re gonna beat President Putin. President Zelensky.” Zelensky responded with a handshake, saying, “I am better,” Biden replied, “You are a helluva lot better.”

During the NATO Summit, US President Joe Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” when introducing him.

Erdogan's comments came as NATO leaders huddled in Washington and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was planning "response measures" to contain the "very serious threat" from the alliance.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that any possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO was "worrying", the official Anadolu news agency reported.

Erdogan's comments came as NATO leaders huddled in Washington and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was planning "response measures" to contain the "very serious threat" from the alliance.

The Russian T-90 crew abandoned the tank, “a hi-tech weapon system based on a century-long experience” which Putin considers the Kremlin’s most advanced, and then fled the battlefield.

Ukrainian tankers from the Hunting Brigade captured a Russian T-90M Proryv (“Breakthrough”) tank, which Russian President Vladimir Putin considers the most modern model in his army, the Khortytsia operational and strategic group of troops reported on Telegram.

The exact location in the Eastern sector was not specified in the report.

NATO leaders pledged enduring support for Ukraine and alliance unity as they concluded a three-day summit, despite concerns over President Biden's fitness to lead the United States.

NATO leaders pledged enduring support for Ukraine and commitment to their alliance as they wrapped up a three-day summit overshadowed by doubts over President Joe Biden's fitness to run crucial power the United States.

The 32-nation alliance used the pomp-filled 75th anniversary gala in the US capital to showcase its resolve against Russia two and half years into the Kremlin's invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister said that Ukraine’s “peace formula” is a “dead-end” and complained about the deliberate “ignoring of other initiatives” to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin announced that Moscow will not participate in the second Peace Summit, to which Kyiv has said it intends to invite Russia.

He claims that Ukraine's and the West's plans for a second peace summit are an attempt to “rehabilitate” the alleged “failure” of the Switzerland summit. In addition, Galuzin called President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula “dead-end and ultimatum.”

Orban has been a vocal supporter of Trump, and last met the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful in March.

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban jetted off to Florida on Thursday to meet with former US president Donald Trump after the end of the NATO summit in Washington.

The sit-down at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is likely to further upset Budapest's allies after Orban drew widespread ire from European counterparts for meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.

A former Ukrainian MP said on a Rossiya 1 TV program that the missile attack on the Ohmatdyt children’s hospital was timed to gain increased support for Kyiv at the NATO summit.

The Russian news site Izvestia reports that during the “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” propaganda program on the Rossiya 1 TV channel on Wednesday July 10, the former Verkhovna Rada deputy Spiridon Kilinkarov gave an outrageous opinion on what he said was the reality surrounding the July 8 missile attack on the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv.

Kilinkarov suggested that not only was the accusation that Russia had targeted the hospital untrue he went on to imply it was a provocation engineered by Ukraine, the British or one of its other allies.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian authorities reportedly attempted to assassinate leading figures in the European defense industrial base (DIB), likely as part of Russian efforts to disrupt and deter Western aid to Ukraine and Russia's wider efforts to destabilize NATO members.
• Finnish authorities reported an increase in GPS "malfunctions" in the past week and that most disruptions to aviation and maritime GPS and radar originate from within Russia.
• Ukraine intends to hold a second meeting of the Global Peace Summit by the end of 2024 and reportedly plans to invite Russia to participate.
• European Union (EU) leadership is reportedly considering restricting Hungary's power as EU Council president following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow and his efforts to present himself as a potential mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
• The Russian government continued efforts to root out critical voices and consolidate control over the Russian information space.
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that it prevented a terrorist attack against an Orthodox church in Maykop, Republic of Adygea on July 11.
• Ukrainian forces advanced north of Kharkiv City; and Russian forces recently advanced south of Siversk, northwest of Avdiivka, and west of Donetsk City.
• Russian federal subjects (regions) continue to use monetary incentives as part of Russia's crypto-mobilization recruitment efforts.