Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 11-27-2024

A fixture on the cable news circuit, the 80-year-old national security veteran co-wrote an academic paper calling for Washington to leverage military aid as a means of pushing for peace talks.

US President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was nominating staunch loyalist and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine envoy, charged with ending the two-and-a-half-year Russian invasion.

Trump campaigned on a platform of ushering a swift end to the Ukraine war, boasting that he would quickly mediate a ceasefire deal between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

Trump previously expressed confidence that he could easily re-engage with Kim Jong-un, asserting that the North Korean leader “misses” their previous relationship.

President-elect Donald Trump’s team is considering holding direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to ease tensions and reduce the risk of armed conflict, according to Reuters.

The discussions would aim to revive US-North Korea relations, though the potential outcome remains uncertain.

Russia’s recent offensive has captured 235 square kilometers in a week, marking its fastest territorial gains since 2022. But Ukraine’s top general announces a planned counterstrike.

The Russian army captured almost 235 square kilometers (91 square miles) in Ukraine over the past week, a weekly record for 2024, according to Reuters.

The pace of Russia’s offensive has reached levels not seen since the early days of its full-scale invasion in 2022, when Kremlin forces quickly occupied vast territories before being pushed back in eastern and southern Ukraine. The front line had remained almost static for two years until heavy fighting resumed in the summer of 2024.

The darkness of Putin’s depravity is something hard for Westerners to understand, argues famed journalist David Satter in this exclusive interview with Kyiv Post’s Jason Smart.

The probable destruction of Russia’s best tank, the T-90, by an advanced American kamikaze drone is another nail in the coffin of Kremlin claims of weapons dominance on Ukrainian battlefields.

In another battlefield incident not helpful for Kremlin claims of military-technical dominance and top-quality combat kit, recent video published by Ukraine’s national spy agency showed a high-tech US-made Switchblade-600 kamikaze drone – for the first time ever – striking and utterly demolishing a T-90M main battle tank, the pride of Russian armor forces.

The images published on Nov. 25 on official information platforms operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country’s national intelligence and law enforcement agency, showed high resolution video of a drone strike against a Russian T-90M driving at speed on a dirt road. Subsequent impact images recorded by another drone show the tank engulfed by a massive explosion.

Kazakhstan is a member of the Moscow-led CSTO security alliance but has expressed concern about the almost three-year war, which Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has refused to condone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a two-day trip aimed at shoring up ties with his Central Asian ally as tensions mount over the Ukraine war.

Kazakhstan is a member of the Moscow-led CSTO security alliance but has expressed concern about the almost three-year conflict, which Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has refused to condone.

The Ukrainian woman continues her assault on the world freediving exceeding the 80-meter record she set at the World Championships in October.

At an international freediving competition in the Caribbean Island of Dominica, Kateryna Sadurska the sole representative from Ukraine set a new absolute world record in the discipline of diving without fins at 82 meters.

The six-day AIDA Freediving international competition started on Nov. 25 on the picturesque island of Dominica, with its mountainous landscapes and tropical forests. Three days are allocated for diving, and three more for rest to allow the athletes to recover from their difficult and energy-consuming dives.

Ukraine borrowed $452.4 billion but did not decrease government bond interest rates. Bond Market Insight for Nov. 27

Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) borrowed UAH19bn in UAH-denominated bonds.

Military bonds were 3x oversubscribed, but without any chance of decreasing interest rates. Most of the bonds the MoF sold were at last week's cut-off rate, 15.2% and 16.19% for 1.5 and 2.5-year paper.

Olena Hrazhdan’s feature about Ma’rijany Hemp Company constructing a hemp factory in Ukraine won special recognition from one of Ukraine’s business associations.

The feature about Ma’rijany Hemp Company constructing a hemp factory in Ukraine won special recognition from Ukraine's business association, the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, for “quality coverage of Ukraine's business for an international audience,” in a competition among Ukrainian business reporters in November 2024. 

The feature, called “Ukrainian Company Is Building Europe’s Largest Hemp Factory”, tells a story about Ukraine-based investor Andrii Mykytiv who decided to start the business of hemp fiber manufacturing months after Russia’s invasion in Ukraine started. 

Recent satellite images have shown the “February 11” missile manufacturing plant near Hamhung, North Korea’s second-most populous city, is being enlarged.

North Korea is expanding a weapons plant that manufactures missiles being used by Russia against Ukraine, according to analysts from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), who had examined recent satellite imagery produced by Planet Labs PBC.

North Korea’s state news agency KCNA confirmed earlier in November that construction was underway at the plant but categorized it as a modernization program that had been planned for implementation in 2024.

The South China Morning Post, citing its sources, reported on Nov. 26 that a Ukrainian delegation led by Ukraine’s defense minister was expected to visit South Korea to request weapons aid.

Kyiv and Seoul have agreed to share intelligence on North Korea’s troop deployments to Russia and the transfer of weapons and technology between Pyongyang and Moscow following Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov’s visit to Seoul on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

During the visit, Umerov met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, according to a press release from Yoon’s office.

The request has drawn criticism from some Republican lawmakers, who argue that additional aid to Ukraine undermines the possibility of peace talks.

US President Joe Biden has secretly requested an additional $24 billion from Congress to support Ukraine and replenish US weapons stocks previously sent to Kyiv, according to documents reviewed by Politico.

The proposal was reportedly submitted on Nov. 25 and must be addressed by Dec. 20 to avoid a potential government shutdown.

Georgia’s ruling pro-Russian party nominates ex-fooballer for the largely ceremonial post of president, aiming to strengthen its grip on power.

Georgia's ruling party on Wednesday nominated far-right politician, former football international Mikheil Kavelashvili for the largely ceremonial post of president, aiming to strengthen its grip on power.

The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since disputed parliamentary elections on October 26 that saw the Georgian Dream party secure a new majority.

Bulgaria’s controversial leading politician abandons idea of heading a new coalition government.

Bulgaria is headed for an eighth general election in just four years as the country continues to grapple with a severe political crisis, with Boyko Borissov (EPP), leader of the largest party GERB, announcing on Tuesday that he did not want to become prime minister and "take care of this broken country".

He announced that GERB would not agree to the government options proposed by other political parties as they refuse to have their leader, Borissov, as prime minister.

Hopes of improved ties as Ukraine clears path to exhuming Poles killed in WWII Ukrainian-Polish inter-ethnic conflict.

Kyiv has confirmed there are no obstacles to exhuming the remains of Poles massacred by Ukrainians during WWII, Poland’s foreign minister said on Tuesday, signaling an apparent breakthrough in a thorny problem souring relations between the two nations.

The issue of exhumations has often threatened to derail ties between Kyiv and Warsaw, a staunch backer of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• It is likely that Ukraine will see real economic growth of around 3 per cent in 2024. This continues the trend of wartime recovery after Ukraine's economy contracted by around 29 per cent in 2022, followed by real economic growth of 5 per cent in 2023.The IMF has forecast an average annual inflation rate of 5.8 per cent for 2024, down from a peak of around 20 per cent in2022. Defence spending is expected to account for approximately 60 per cent of Ukraine's state expenditures in 2025.
• The Russian economy will likely grow by around 3.6 per cent in 2024, a continuing trend of growth since the initial economic shock of the war in 2022. This growth is highly likely being driven by government spending, particularly on the Military Industrial Complex. However, economic growth is forecast to slow in 2025 due to pressures from inflation, labour shortages and sanctions.
• Russian defence spending is expected to increase further in 2025 to account for 32 per cent of total budget expenditures, while other areas of the budget such as social spending face cuts. Increased government spending will highly likely intensify existing inflationary pressures in the economy, with an annual average inflation rate of 7.9 per cent forecast for 2024.

The White House says it takes Moscow’s threats seriously after Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the base has been “included on the list of priority targets for potential strikes.”

The US has vowed to take Russia’s threats seriously after Moscow said a US missile base in Poland is on its “priority targets” list.

“The opening of a missile defense base in Poland is another provocative step by the United States, which leads to an increase in strategic risks.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it arrested a suspect who, on the orders of Russian intelligence, had set up an ambush to lure police units to an apartment with a fake emergency call.

A 43-year-old man was arrested in Kyiv for attempting to kill a police unit by luring them to a booby trap using a fake distress call, allegedly by order of Russian special services.

 Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), in its Tuesday press release, said the incident took place on Nov. 17 in Kyiv’s Pechersk District, when the police received a distress call from a female reporting a domestic violence incident in an apartment in that district.

Kyiv Mayor confirmed two injured, one requiring hospitalization after falling drone debris struck a house in Kyiv’s Dniprovsky district.

Russia launched another overnight drone attack on Kyiv on Nov. 27, causing injuries and damage as falling debris struck a building, Kyiv officials reported.

According to the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMVA), debris from Russian drones fell in the Dniprovsky district, damaging a non-residential infrastructure building.

According to Polish media, work on exhumations had been suspended since 2017, when tensions briefly surged between the two neighbours.

Polish and Ukrainian foreign ministers on Tuesday hailed progress in resolving a historical dispute over the WWII Volyn killings, adding they were working towards exhuming the victims.

The decades-long spat over the Volyn massacre in modern-day Ukraine has led to frequent diplomatic tensions between neighbours and allies, with Warsaw long campaigning for Kyiv's greenlight on the exhumations.

Naryshkin claims the West is pushing for a “freeze” to the war simply because, according to him, Russia is winning in all directions.

Russia “categorically rejects” any thoughts of freezing the war in Ukraine, maintaining the only way forward is the ultimatum previously outlined in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “peace plan,” according to Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). 

“Russia categorically rejects any ‘freezing’ of the Ukrainian conflict,” Naryshkin said on Tuesday, Nov. 26, following a meeting of security and intelligence heads from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow.

The Ruble’s current depreciation began in August, alongside the rise in the key rate which started earlier to sustain hardship in Russia’s economy.

On Nov. 22, the Russian Ruble plunged to a new low – the US dollar exchange rate rose above the 105 Ruble mark for the first time since March 2022, according to data from Investment.com which monitored rates over the last two years following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

This significant milestone highlights ongoing economic turbulence in Russia, raising the likelihood of further inflation and economic instability.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian officials continue to demonstrate that the Kremlin aims to seize more territory in Ukraine than it currently occupies and is unwilling to accept compromises or engage in good faith negotiations, no matter who mediates such talks.
• The Russian military's rate of advance since Fall 2024 has notably increased recently compared to its rate of advance in 2023 and the rest of 2024, but recent Western media reports comparing recent Russian gains to those at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion continue to mischaracterize the gradual and tactical nature of Russia's recent advances.
• US National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby confirmed Ukraine's usage of US-provided ATACMS against Russia amid official Russian confirmation of recent Ukrainian ATACMS strikes.
• Russian forces launched a record number of drones against Ukraine on the night of November 25 to 26 as Russia continue to increase their use of decoy drones in long-range strike packages targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure in order to overwhelm Ukrainian air defense systems.
• Russian state media reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) replaced former Russian Southern Military District (SMD) and Southern Grouping of Forces commander Colonel General Gennady Anashkin with Eastern Military District (EMD) acting commander Lieutenant General Alexander Sanchik.
• Russian forces continue to execute Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) amid a surge of recent Russian war crimes.
• The Russian State Duma is preparing the legal mechanisms to remove the Taliban from the Russian government’s official list of banned terrorist organizations.
• Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions near Kreminna, and Russian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka.
• A Russian milblogger complained on November 25 that Russian forces often operate artillery without coordinating between different Russian elements, highlighting significant communications issues between armored vehicle and infantry units.
• Russian authorities continue to incentivize service in Ukraine through one-time payment offers, likely in order to avoid conducting another partial involuntary reserve callup.

The media reports say UK officials declined to disclose the exact timing or quantity of the missiles delivered, emphasizing the need for operational security.

Anonymous sources told  Bloomberg , that the United Kingdom had sent dozens of Storm Shadow long-range missiles to Ukraine several weeks ago. The shipment was timely as Ukraine reportedly faced a shortage of the weapons.

This is the first missile delivery made under Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership. In declining to disclose the exact timing or quantity of the missiles, the officials emphasized the need for operational security.

NATO meets in Brussels following Russia’s attack on Ukraine with Oresnik IRBM; Moscow expels British diplomat accused of spying on the Kremlin; Zelensky says Russian drones show no ambition for peace.

NATO Reaffirms Support for Ukraine After Russia Tests New Missile

NATO allies strongly reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine at talks in Brussels on Tuesday, following Russia's missile test that targeted Dnipro last week. The strike carried out with the new Oreshnik hypersonic missile marked a sharp escalation in the conflict, with Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming it was a response to Ukraine’s use of US and British-supplied weapons. 

Despite Russia's increasing provocations, NATO members made it clear they would continue to stand by Kyiv as it defends itself against Moscow's aggression.