Ukraine
Ukrainian capital under air attacks, no casualties
The Kiev City Military Administration said on Sunday in a statement that the air defence shot down all 32 air targets launched against the capital. Wreckage from aerial intercepts damaged a private car in the central Shevchenkivskiy district and fell onto subway tracks in the eastern Dniprovskiy district, disrupting the operation of the local subway, Xinhua news agency reported.
Fighting in Ukraine currently deadlocked: Spy chief
Speaking to the BBC, Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, said: "The situation is just stuck... It doesn't move." After Ukrainian troops recaptured the southern city of Kherson in November, most of the fiercest battles have been around Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk region.
Zelensky hopes for quick implementation of agreements with US
In his night video address to the nation, the President said on Monday: "Today I held an extended meeting on the results of my visit to the US and the implementation of the agreements. We will not waste time.
Ukraine aims to hold peace summit this winter: Foreign Minister
"The UN could be the best platform for holding this summit," Kuleba was quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency as saying, Xinhua news agency reported. Kuleba said that he believes that Russia is not ready for peace talks, though the minister pointed out that "every war ends as a result of the actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table".
16 killed in Russian strikes in Ukraine
At least 16 people were killed and 64 others were wounded in Russian strikes in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast. The Russian forces on Saturday shelled the city centre, industrial premises, medical institutions, private and apartment buildings with tubed artillery, MLRS and mortars, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Ukraine to require at least $39.5-billion external financing in 2023: IMF
Under a pessimistic scenario, which envisages that Ukraine's gross domestic product will decline by 12.5 per cent, the country's foreign financing needs will be around $57 billion, the IMF said. According to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, external financing of Ukraine's state budget is set to reach $30 billion this year.
Ukraine to dominate UN in 2023, impacting reforms, economic issues
The Ukraine war has emerged as a catalyst for calls to change both the UN as well as the international institutions created after World War II, and there will be renewed efforts next year in that direction even if changes don't happen next year. As the long-simmering disenchantment with the functioning of the Council seemed ready to boil over, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "The possibility of enlarging the Security Council is now seriously on the table."
Ukraine to Taiwan, Argentina to Afghanistan, the flashpoints of 2023
While various "unknown unknowns", in the picturesque language of former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, or "Black Swan Events" of writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb, may loom over us, it is the mostly the known issues from 2022 that seem set to stay in the headlines in 2023. Accompanying them will be a few elections, slated for the coming year, that may have ramifications far beyond their respective countries.
Ukraine is alive and kicking, says President Zelensky
Zelensky, who urged the US to help Ukraine in the war, said "the US military aid to Ukraine was not charity, but an investment in security for the future," the BBC reported on Thursday. His appeal comes amid signs US support is likely to face greater scrutiny by Republican lawmakers in Congress.
Former Russian Deputy PM injured in Ukrainian shelling
Dmitry Rogozin, who also once led the Russian space agency - Roscosmos, said that he was hit above the shoulder blade. Another person is said to have been killed in the attack on the outskirts of Donetsk city, the BBC reported. Vitaly Khotsenko, who heads Russia's proxy Donetsk People's Republic, was also reportedly wounded.
Advertisement