Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 11-01-2024

Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz plugs for Trump while many regard her as a traitor to her former Ukrainian homeland

Rep. Victoria Spartz, the only Ukrainian-born member of Congress, has argued that former president Donald Trump is the best candidate for American foreign allies – especially Ukraine.

Despite being one of the few members of the American Congress who has been to Ukraine, Spartz has voted against recent humanitarian and military aid packages along party lines. She claimed that “peace can only be achieved through strength” and that Trump is “the toughest in actions” during an ABC interview on Thursday.

Kyiv Post’s Katie Livingstone attended rallies for Trump and Harris in Georgia to explore U.S. voter opinions on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian men living in Russian-occupied Crimea were accused of working with Kyiv

Russia on Friday sentenced two men in annexed Crimea to 14 and 16 years in prison on treason charges, accusing them of working for Kyiv’s security services.  

Moscow has regularly sentenced people in Crimea – annexed by Russia in 2014 and used to attack Ukraine in 2022 – for allegedly working for Kyiv. 

These recent gains add to Russia’s summer offensive progress, totaling 1,146 square kilometers since Aug. 6—a 25% increase from the first half of the year.

Russian forces have seized more territory in eastern Ukraine than at any other time in 2024, capturing over 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) in the last week, according to Bloomberg.

The recent gains add to Russia’s summer offensive progress, totaling 1,146 square kilometers (442 square miles) since Aug. 6 – a 25% increase from the first half of the year, according to DeepState map data analyzed by Bloomberg Intelligence.

Russia persists in claiming that the plethora of sanctions imposed by the West since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine are ineffective despite evidence to the contrary.

After the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the world witnessed a wave of sanctions that severely affected the Russian economy. The West acted quickly and decisively, with the US and the European Union imposing restrictions on almost every sector of the Russian economy.

Since then, Russian officials have promoted the idea that the sanctions are ineffective or, more cynically, that they hurt Europe more than Russia itself. Yet beneath the facade of resilience painted by Russian propaganda, Moscow’s economy is undoubtedly suffering severe consequences.

It’s debatable how many people who are still on the Trump train will be compelled to jump off by the latest in a very, very long line of such incidents.

FOUR DAYS to go in America and we’re down to the closing arguments. Donald Trump’s message is “Kamala broke it; he’ll fix it”. But true to form, that has been obscured by the huge row over a joke about Puerto Rico – risqué or disgraceful, depending how you see things – made by a comedian at his weekend rally at Madison Square Garden.

It’s debatable how many people who are still on the Trump train will be compelled to jump off by the latest in a very, very long line of such incidents. But with things as tight as they are, any distraction is unwelcome.

Zelensky didn’t spell out which NATO members are against covering Polish air space so Kyiv could get about a dozen aging MiGs from Warsaw.

Poland wants to hand over its aging MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine to help fight Russia, but other NATO states are unwilling to fill the gap that would be left in Polish air defenses, so the planes must stay Polish Air Force property, Pawel Wroński, spokesman for Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a Thursday statement.

Speaking to Ukraine’s state-run Ukrinform news agency, Wroński said: “We realize that Ukraine, repelling Russia’s attack, is also protecting us. But the protection needs of Poland are at the forefront.”

The command of the 810th Brigade of Russian marines, based in Sevastopol, is reportedly trying but failing to cover up deaths of its troops in the Kursk regiont.

Russian troops from the 810th Marine Brigade, stationed in Russian-occupied Crimea, are allegedly paying bribes to avoid deployment to the Kursk region, according to a report by the Atesh partisan movement on Telegram.

The 810th Separate Marine Infantry Brigade, part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet coastal forces, is normally based near Sevastopol in Kozacha Bay. An Atesh agent from within the brigade reported persistent morale issues due to frequent deployments to the Kursk region and daily notifications of casualties.

North Korea's FM Choe Son Hui was in Moscow as the West believes up to 10,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia and on the brink of entering the more than two-year conflict on Russia's side.

North Korea will stand by Russia until its victory in Ukraine, Pyongyang's foreign minister said in Moscow Friday, as the US has warned thousands of North Korean troops could be sent to combat in the Ukraine conflict in the coming days.

North Korea's Choe Son Hui was in Moscow as the West believes up to 10,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia and on the brink of entering the more than two-year conflict on Russia's side.

Video footage from thermal imaging equipped Ukrainian drones showed Russian soldiers wearing anti-drone cloaks that fail to conceal them effectively, leaving them open to attack by the drones.

A video released by Ukraine’s 63rd Brigade shows so-called Russian “invisibility” cloaks, designed to fool thermal imaging, failing to provide sufficient concealment, allowing the shrouded soldiers to be detected and attacked with targeted ammunition drops from Ukrainian drones.

“Turtles? Zombies? North Korean special forces? No, these are Russians who still believe in the magical power of their anti-drone raincoats,” the caption to the video reads.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• According to Russian independent media, convictions on treason charges in Russia are at the highest level in at least 9 years, with more convictions in the first 6 months of 2024 than in all of 2023, citing data from the Russian Ministry of Justice. Similarly, there has been significant growth in convictions under criminal articles relating to extremism, terrorism, and 'disinformation'.
• This conviction data illustrates the increasing reliance by the Russian government on coercive and demonstratively deterrent methods to maintain control over elements of the population that are hostile to the regime. Prior to Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, the regime would usually preference more subtle ways of controlling dissent.

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

At least 158 people have died in Spain's worst flooding disaster in generations as rescuers battle odds to find survivors. On Thursday more than 1,200 workers, aided by drones, were deployed to the rescue mission as rains continued to threaten parts of the country. "Right now the most important thing is to save as many lives as possible," Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told victims in a visit to affected communities. But in some of the towns worst- hit in Tuesday night's floods, people were left to the task of recovering bodies from the mud and wreckage. A least 155 deaths were recorded in Valencia. In the town of Paiporta, Valencia where a river burst its banks, at least 40 deaths have been recorded so far. “We all know someone who has died," said pharmacist Miguel Guerrilla, standing outside his chemist shop which has been covered in thick mud. “It's a nightmare." On Thursday, the BBC saw undertakers and funeral vans retrieving bodies from the street, while on nearby roads, cars swept away by the storm surge were piled on top of each other. Motorists have recounted the horror of being trapped by the surging tides on Tuesday which turned highways and streets into rivers - many who survived climbed trees or bridges to escape - BBC

Some 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia near Ukraine’s border and are preparing to help the Kremlin fight against Ukrainian troops in the coming days, the Biden administration said Thursday. The new figure is a dramatic increase from a day earlier, when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would only say “some” of the troops had moved toward Ukraine’s border in the Kursk region, where Moscow’s forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion. That also would mean most of the North Korean troops that the U.S. and its allies say have been sent to Russia are now on the Russia-Ukraine border. The U.S. has estimated a total of about 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia. Seoul and its allies assessed that the number has increased to 11,000, while Ukraine has put the figure higher, at up to 12,000. Of the 8,000 in Kursk, “we’ve not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces but we would expect that to happen in the coming days,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference with Austin and their South Korean counterparts. - AP

Almost two months ago, Ukraine's almost daily and devastating drone strikes on Russia's oil industry inexplicably stopped, causing many to theorise what was the reason behind that.

Dozens of Ukrainian drones launched an extensive attack across several Russian regions early morning on Friday, Nov. 1, including an oil depot in Stavropol, almost 900 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

According to the region's governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, emergency services responded swiftly to the scene, and no injuries were reported.

Moldova heads to the polls on Sunday for a second-round vote to choose between the pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, and her opponent, Aleksandr Stoianoglo, who seeks to rebuild bridges with Moscow.

Moldova heads to the polls on Sunday for a second-round vote to choose between the incumbent pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, and her opponent, Aleksandr Stoianoglo, who seeks to rebuild bridges with Moscow.

Stoianoglo has rejected suggestions that he is beholden to Russia, calling for European integration while avoiding the divisions he said Sandu had created during her four-year term. Stoianoglo is backed in Sunday's run-off vote by the Socialist Party, which has traditionally been linked to Russia.

Kyiv Post is proud to announce that the tradition of supporting our publication and democracy in Ukraine will be maintained under the leadership of Ruslan Kivan.

Kyiv Post is proud to announce that the tradition of supporting our publication and democracy in Ukraine will be maintained under the leadership of Ruslan Kivan, who has taken over as publisher and owner of Ukraine’s oldest English-language news outlet – Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s Global Voice - www.kyivpost.com

“It’s a profound honor and responsibility for me to continue the work of my late father, Adnan Kivan, who was a special person with a unique vision and extraordinary intellect. Like him, I am a firm supporter of democracy in Ukraine, especially as it strives for victory. I want to make it clear that I am committed to the principles of honesty and freedom of speech, as they are the foundations of democracy.

Candidates troll each other before Tuesday elections: Harris spoke from Trump’s infamous “January 6th” site; Trump held event from garbage truck cab; US Secretaries, South Korean Ministers share intel

Democratic presidential nominee Harris gave her “final speech” at the site of Trump’s infamous “January 6th” Speech

The Democratic party’s nominee for the US presidential race Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her final campaign keynote speech at the National Mall in Washington, DC. ahead of the election, which officially takes place Nov. 5 but many from the US electorate will have voted before then by mail or through early voting stations.

Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin is "testing the reaction of the West, of NATO states and the reaction of South Korea.

SEO - North Korean Troops in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Western countries on Thursday, Oct. 31, for "zero response" to North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

As Americans prepare to vote in the upcoming presidential election, the Ukrainian American community is divided over the candidates, despite the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The split among the Ukrainian American diaspora in these final days of the 2024 presidential election stems not only because of the differing political approaches of the two parties toward supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia but also from key factors such as demographics and religion within the community.

However, Donald Trump’s rhetoric towards Ukraine has further polarized Ukrainian Americans, intensifying debates over US involvement. Whichever candidate wins will likely set the US on a divergent path in its support for Ukraine, with each offering a distinctly different vision for the nation’s role in helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia.

Seeking advantage in his invasion of Ukraine, Putin has brought in troops from North Korea, the first time Russia has invited foreign forces on its soil in more than a century.

The United States said Thursday that up to 8,000 North Korean troops have reached Russia's border region with Ukraine trained and ready for combat, as Pyongyang's firing of a long-range missile ramped up tensions days before the US election.

Seeking advantage in his grinding invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has brought in troops and military hardware from North Korea, the first time Russia has invited foreign forces on its soil in more than a century.

In a statement to the UN Security Council on Wednesday the Ukrainian delegation said it had identified that at least 500 North Korean officers, including three generals, had been sent to Russia.

Donald Rumsfeld, when US Defense Secretary, famously said the following about Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction at a Department of Defense (DoD) news briefing in February 2002:

“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”

US intelligence officials again warn of Russian attempts to interfere in the ongoing presidential election for the benefit of Former President Donald Trump as they did in the two previous ballots.

During the 2016 presidential election Russia undoubtedly attacked and undermined US democracy in order to aid Trump’s bid to win the presidency, as witnessed by several reports, including those produced by the bipartisan Senate intelligence committee and special counsel Robert Mueller.

Accusations that Trump called on Russian support during that election bound but, even if he didn’t, he benefitted from the Kremlin’s activities. Russian cyberattacks stole Democratic data including emails and files which were leaked almost daily via WikiLeaks during the final months of the presidential campaign. This unquestionably contributed to Hillary Clinton's defeat, though we will never know to what extent.