Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 11-13-2024

The London-based chef and author had emigrated from Russia after the invasion of Crimea in 2014 and often shared anti-war messages on his popular cooking programs.

A famed Russian chef who has been highly critical of Moscow's war in Ukraine has been found dead while on a visit to Serbia's capital, according to several sources on Wednesday.

The death of Alexei Zimin, who has been based in London for years, marks the latest passing of a Russian expatriate critical of the Kremlin's war.

US House Republicans made a surprise pick for Senate majority leader who has publicly backed continuing support to Ukraine and standing up to Putin’s Russia.

The Republicans in the US Senate picked John Thune of South Dakota as the chamber's new leader Wednesday in lieu of more favored candidates in an unexpected move – that could be good news for Ukraine. 

Congressional lawmakers scrambling to prepare for President-elect Donald Trump's new administration rejected his camp's favored candidate over Thune, who already holds a junior leadership position. He bested John Cornyn of Texas in a run-off to replace outgoing party leader Mitch McConnell, having already seen off Florida's Rick Scott, who was seen as most aligned with Trump.

Moscow’s troops keep pressing around the Donbas town of Kurakhove, where a dam was blown up and the terrain is soon expected to be flooded, impeding movement of both sides.

Russian forces advanced between one and two kilometers in waves of assaults against battered Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donbas sector, as a long-running Kremlin offensive in east Ukraine appeared to pick up pace on Wednesday.

Unofficial Russian sources reported Kremlin forces had taken control of the village of Novoselydivka and pushed troops into the eastern districts of Kurakhove, the regional industrial center, where heavy combat was in progress.

The issues arose from outstanding debts from leased foreign aircraft, where payments had to be made in Russian rubles after 2022 and were unaccepted by foreign lessors.

Three dozen airlines in Russia could go bankrupt in 2025 due to the indirect impacts of Western sanctions.

Russian media Izvestia said the affected airlines comprise three dozen small and medium-sized airlines, which make up 26% of Russia’s passenger flights.

Ukrainian activists interrupted Russian opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya’s speech at the Lisbon Web Summit by setting off air raid sirens, to which Navalnaya urged Ukrainians not to “create enemies.”

Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, urged Ukrainians to “stop creating an enemy” after Ukrainian activists sounded an air raid alarm simultaneously during her speech at the Lisbon Web Summit on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

As reported by BBC Ukraine, Ukrainian activists also shouted “Stop Russia” and “Stop the war” during Navalnaya’s speech, as the siren from the mobile phones was not loud enough.

Why Russia is showing all of the signs of having fallen into a quagmire with no strategy or hope of being able to get out.

The grant will be allocated to the state budget and help pay social wages, including salaries for teachers.

Ukraine received a $1.35 billion grant from the US to cover social and humanitarian payments, including salaries for teachers and other school staff.

The funds were allocated to the stas ate budget directly through the World Bank’s Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) Project, according to a Wednesday press release by Ukraine’s Minister of Finance.

Ukrainian military intelligence says the Russians aren’t just buying Chinese. The robot plane designed to spoof air defenses is cheaply manufactured in Russia.

A robot plane in mass production in Russia and widely used in air strikes against Ukrainian homes and businesses is manufactured and flown in combat thanks to electronics imported from the China, Taiwan, Switzerland and even the United States, Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday.

Manufacturers contributing key electronic components to the Russian Parodiya robot plane (Пародия/Parody) include China’s Ebyte, Jiashan Jinchang Electron and Yangzhou Yangjie Electronic Technology; America’s Texas Instruments, Cypress Semiconductor, and InvenSense; Switzerland’s STMicroelectronics, and Taiwan’s SONiX Technology, a Nov. 11 statement from Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said.

In an interview with exiled Russian liberal TV station Dozhd, she admitted that "nobody has a plan" at the heart of the opposition on how to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or Putin’s 24-year rule.

Russian opposition politician Yulia Navalnaya admitted Wednesday that Kremlin critics have "no plan" on how to end Russian President Vladimir Putin's rule, while she believes in its eventual fall, speaking ahead of a protest march in Berlin.

Forced into exile due to unprecedented repression at home, the Russian opposition has recently been further fragmented by internal conflicts, after being left leaderless by the death of Alexei Navalny in prison in February.

The founder behind Ukraine’s “STALKER” games is offering his personal Rolls Royce, estimated to cost up to $500,000, to whoever destroys a Russian frigate because they happen to share the same name.

Serhiy Hryhorovych, founder of Ukrainian gaming studio GSC Game World behind the “STALKER” franchise, is offering his personal Rolls Royce to anyone who destroys the Russian frigate “Admiral Grigorovich” of the Black Sea Fleet.

Hryhorovych, whose name in Russified spelling is the same as the vessel, said the offer arose because the latter “[disgraces his] family name.”

Fox News presenter Pete Hegseth is to head the US Department of Defence, while Marco Rubio is under discussion as the next Secretary of State and Mike Waltz as the new National Security Adviser.

After his election as US president, Donald Trump's first picks for key foreign policy positions have become known. Military veteran and Fox News presenter Pete Hegseth is to head the US Department of Defence, while Marco Rubio is under discussion as the next Secretary of State and Mike Waltz as the new National Security Adviser. Both are considered hardliners vis-à-vis China and have criticised the current policy on Ukraine. Europe's press weighs in.

Washington opting for aggressive approach

Billionaire Elon Musk will lead the proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, said US President-elect Donald Trump.

Billionaire Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the upcoming US administration under President-elect Donald Trump.

The agency’s namesake is likely a tongue-in-cheek reference to Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency Musk advocated in 2013 that initially started as a joke, whose namesake itself originated from an internet meme of a Shiba Inu known as “doge.”

War insurance saved Ukraine’s vital shipping route for exporting grain, but global insurers should stop “blanket” exclusion of Ukraine’s market, Senior Marsh McLennan partner told Kyiv Post.

Marsh McLennan, a global leader in risk management services, is working on war insurance for cargo ships transporting grain through Ukraine’s Black Sea corridor, and now negotiating coverage for potential civilian flights from Ukraine once the sky is safer.

They are not the only ones in Ukraine working in this field, but clearly the major newsmakers.

The US presidential elections have been decided for more than a week and the president-elect is making key decisions that will steer Ukraine’s future. However, Ukraine is missing out big.

Key decisions that will drive Ukraine’s future are being made as Republicans flock to Mar-a-Lago. However, inexplicably, supporters of Ukraine, including the Ukrainian government, have decided to sit out the decision-making process.

Rather than be heard as the development of US-Ukraine relations is debated, or while future-cabinet members are selected, Ukraine’s voice is silent, causing one to wonder: Where is Team Ukraine?

Biden invited his sworn rival to meet in the Oval Office -- despite the fact that Trump, who has consistently refused to admit his 2020 election loss, never afforded Biden the same courtesy.

Donald Trump will make a triumphant return to the White House to meet President Joe Biden Wednesday, in the Republican's first visit since departing amid a cloud of scandal nearly four years ago.

Trump's meeting with Biden comes as he moves swiftly to name his top team, including the world's richest man Elon Musk as head of a new group aimed at slashing government waste.

A naval officer from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was killed when his car was destroyed by a booby trap bomb after leaving a supermarket parking area in the port city.

At around 9 a.m. this morning what appears to be an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated under a car that had just left the parking area of a supermarket on Taras Shevchenko Street in Sevastopol, the traditional base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Initial reports said the driver, who was believed to be a Russian naval officer, was very seriously injured but had been safely removed from the wreckage of the car and was being treated at the roadside but it was soon confirmed that he had succumbed from his injuries.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance again sold the planned volume of all military and reserve bonds, receiving significant oversubscription. Bond Market Insight for Nov. 13

The 1.5 and 2.5-year military bills received almost UAH12bn and UAH18bn of demand vs. a UAH5bn cap for each.

However, most bids were at the cut-off rates of the last auction or very close to them. So, interest rates did not change for a 1.5-year paper; for the 2.5-year securities, rates slid a mere 1bp to 16.19%.

Kolesnikova was part of a trio of women who led mass protests in 2020 against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994.

Photos published online Tuesday showed jailed Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova meeting her father, in the first news on her since February 2023.

Kolesnikova was part of a trio of women who led mass protests in 2020 against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994.

Supernova Airlines plane flew to Moldova to check the process of delivery of parcels to clients in Moldova.

Supernova Airlines, the cargo airlines belonging to Ukraine’s leading private parcel delivery company Nova Poshta (Nova Post or New Post), completed its first cargo charter flight on its Boeing 737-800 aircraft from Budapest to Chisinau, Interfax-Ukraine reported citing a press release from the company. 

Supernova Airlines are a part of the Nova Post Group, founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Volodymyr Popereshniuk and Viacheslav Klimov. It includes Ukraine’s largest private postal service operator Nova Poshta, financial company NovaPay, its own airlines, postal operator for services outside the country NovaGlobal and logistics consulting.

The Estonian foreign ministry’s undersecretary for political affairs told Kyiv Post Tallinn’s cooperation is independent of who assumes office in the US, be it Democrats or Republicans.

Martin Roger, undersecretary for political affairs from Estonia’s foreign ministry, reiterated his country’s support for Ukraine and said Tallinn would continue to work with the upcoming US administration following the US elections, regardless of who’s in office. 

Roger previously worked as Estonia’s Director General for NATO and Transatlantic Relations.

When Russia’s 2022 invasion broke out, Etsy saw beyond mere numbers behind the 40,000+ sellers from Ukraine.

The trip comes as Trump’s election victory, coupled with a political crisis in Germany, heightens fears about the future of assistance for Ukraine at a key point in the fight against Russia’s invasion

US top diplomat Antony Blinken will meet with NATO and EU officials Wednesday to urgently discuss ramping up support for Ukraine before Donald Trump reclaims the White House -- potentially jeopardising future aid.

After landing in Brussels late Tuesday, the secretary of state's one-day visit will see him meet NATO chief Mark Rutte, European Union diplomacy boss Josep Borrell, his successor Kaja Kallas and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga.

The US President-elect chooses Fox News host, little-known NATO-critic and Trump loyalist as Secretary of Defense over more seasoned party members.

Pete Hegseth, a Fox News co-host, author, and National Guard veteran, has been nominated to lead the world’s most powerful military as Secretary of Defense. He has been a staunch supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump and a harsh critic of NATO for years.

But he has also criticized President Joe Biden’s hesitation to stand up to Russia or arm Ukraine adequately to end the war more quickly.

The Kyiv City Military Administration confirmed that air defenses activated across the capital, with sounds of explosions reported in multiple areas.

In the early hours of Wednesday, Nov. 13, Russia launched a coordinated assault on Kyiv, deploying a range of aerial weaponry, including Kh-101 cruise missiles fired from TU-195 strategic bombers and four ballistic missiles launched from the Voronezh region. 

The air raid alarm sounded across the capital around 6:37 a.m., with the first explosions reported by Kyiv Post correspondents at approximately 7:15 a.m. 

The administration has worked to convince lawmakers and the business community to agree on a historic tax hike for three months, but Zelensky has neither signed the law nor exercised his veto power.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has not signed the tax bill aiming to provide $1.3 billion more in tax revenues and mobilize another $3.1 billion in 2025, in a delay might jeopardize billion-dollar revenues needed for defense efforts, according to the Verkhovna Rada website.

The delayed revenue now puts at risk funds to be allocated for ongoing defense efforts, including paying salaries to military personnel, and purchasing weapons, ammunition, etc.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian forces recently advanced during two company-sized mechanized assaults within and south of Kurakhove in western Donetsk Oblast.
• Geolocated footage confirms reports that an explosion damaged the Ternivska Dam at the Kurakhivske Reservoir on November 11.
• Recent Western and Ukrainian estimates about the size of the Russian force grouping in Kursk Oblast do not represent a significant inflection, as Russian forces have spent several months gathering forces for a future counteroffensive effort to expel Ukrainian forces from Russian territory.
• Ukrainian military officials warned that Russian forces may intensify assaults in Zaporizhia Oblast in the near future.
• Select Russian defense officials appear to be contradicting Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent assertion that Russia is not interested in forming a unified security bloc against the West.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk and Kurakhove and in Kursk Oblast.
• The Russian military reportedly continues to coerce conscripts into signing Russian military service contracts, likely as part of ongoing crypto-mobilization efforts.