Russian invasion of Ukraine: Day 651

Summary for Wednesday, 6th December 2023 - DAY 651

Good morning

• Volodymyr Zelenskiy will join a video summit of G7 leaders on Wednesday, host Japan said, hours after the Ukrainian president unexpectedly skipped a virtual meeting with US senators at the last minute. At the meeting, hosted by the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, Zelenskiy will “join the first part”, the government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
  
  
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy cancelled a planned address to US senators on Tuesday, with the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announcing the president would not be able to attend the classified briefing because “something came up at the last minute”. The Ukrainian president had been expected to speak to senators over Zoom. The news came a day after the White House sent an urgent warning that Kyiv’s war efforts to defend itself from Russia’s invasion may grind to a halt without further US military and economic assistance. The Biden administration is urging Congress to approve billions of dollars in support for Ukraine.
  
  
• Vladimir Putin will travel to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on a rare overseas trip to discuss the Israel-Hamas war as Moscow seeks to reassert Russia’s role in the Middle East. The Russian president is making only his fifth trip abroad since the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for him in March that accused him of responsibility for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia have signed the ICC’s founding treaty, which means they would not have to arrest him.
  
  
• Six children will be returned to Ukraine from Russia under a deal brokered by Qatar, according to a Qatari official. The children are en route to Ukraine via Moscow, the source said. This is the second phase of a Qatar-mediated return of children, after four minors were returned in October.
  
  
• The British foreign secretary, David Cameron, has told the House of Lords that there will be no reduction in UK military support for Ukraine in 2024. The update comes after the White House warned that “it is weeks away from running out of money to support Kyiv’s defence against Russia’s invasion”.
  
  
• At least two people were killed and one wounded after Russian forces struck the southern city of Kherson, the head of the office of the Ukrainian presidency said. Regional prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into one of the strikes, which occurred at about 9am and killed a 48-year-old man and a woman who had not yet been identified.
  
  
• Russia claims it downed dozens of Ukrainian drones on Tuesday. Russian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted 41 Ukraine-launched drones, the Russian defence ministry has said.
  
  
• Ukraine’s military shot down 10 out of 17 attack drones launched on Tuesday by Russia, Ukrainian authorities said. The governor of Ukraine’s western Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyy, said three drones had struck an unspecified infrastructure target, causing a fire, but damage had been minimal and no casualties had been reported.
  

Russia launched a total of 48 attack drones overnight on Ukraine

Vladimir Putin on Wednesday will visit both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as Dubai hosts the United Nations’ Cop28 climate talks – despite facing an arrest warrant from the international criminal court over the war in Ukraine

Ukraine's forces are now past first two lines of Russian defences and facing the third

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has said that the country’s defence forces are making gains on the front, having advanced past the first two lines of Russian defences and currently facing the third.

Britain announces 46 new sanctions aimed at Russia's military supply chain

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Saudi Arabia and UAE as Ukraine war grinds on

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin began a trip Wednesday to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, hoping to shore up support in the Mideast from two major oil producers allied to the U.S. as his war on Ukraine grinds on.

Putin landed in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms now hosting the United Nations' COP28 climate talks. It marked his first trip to the region from before the coronavirus pandemic and the war — and as he faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the war in Ukraine.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE has signed the ICC founding treaty, meaning they don't face any obligation to detain Putin over the warrant accusing him of being personally responsible for the abductions of children from Ukraine during his war on the country. Putin skipped a summit in South Africa over concerns he could be arrested on arrival there.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s foreign minister, met a smiling Putin after he bounded down the stairs of his presidential plane. As he arrived at Abu Dhabi's Qasr al-Watan palace to meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the country's ruler, the UAE's military acrobatics team flew in formation with red, white and blue smoke trailing them in the colors of the Russian flag.

Soldiers on horseback and with camels lined his arrival route, Russian and Emirati flags also hanging from lightpoles.
The pageantry in the Emirates, which relies on America as its major security partner, highlights the UAE's expansive business ties to Russia that have exploded in the time since grinding Western sanctions have targeted Moscow.

Ukrainians on hand for the event expressed outrage over Putin being in the country at the same time they described him as committing environmental crimes in their country.

“It is extremely upsetting to see how the world treats war criminals, because that’s what he is, in my opinion,” said Marharyta Bohdanova, a worker at the Ukrainian pavilion at the United Nations COP28 climate summit in Dubai, wiping away tears. "Seeing how people let people like him in the big events, ... treating him like a dear guest, is just so hypocritical in my opinion.”

Officials at Russia's pavilion at the talks declined to speak to The Associated Press.

Putin last visited the UAE in 2019, receiving a warm welcome from Sheikh Mohammed, then the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. In the time since, however, the world has greatly changed.

The Russian president isolated himself during the coronavirus pandemic. He launched an invasion targeting Ukraine in February 2022, a grinding war that continues on today and has been a topic for Ukrainian diplomats at the COP28 talks.

Meanwhile, the Israel-Hamas war remains a major concern for the Mideast, particularly the UAE, which reached a diplomatic recognition with Israel in 2020. Recent attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels also threatens commercial shipping in the Red Sea as Iran’s nuclear program continues it rapid advances since the collapse of the 2016 nuclear deal.

Putin is scheduled to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday for what Ushakov has described as “a rather lengthy conversation.” The two countries have been discussing ways to get around the Western sanctions targeting them.

Putin will travel onto Saudi Arabia and meet with powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the one-day trip, Ushakov said. Those discussions likely will focus on Moscow’s other major concern in the Middle East — oil.

Russia is part of OPEC+, which is a group of cartel members and other nations that have managed production to try and boost crude oil prices. Last week, the group expanded some output cuts into next year and brought up-and-coming oil supplier Brazil into the fold. Benchmark Brent crude traded Wednesday around $77 a barrel, down from nearly $100 in September, over concerns about a weakening economy worldwide.

The visit comes after COP28 saw a parade of Western leaders including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and others backing Ukraine speak at the summit. So did Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, long a Putin ally.

A readout on Putin's trip from the state-run Tass news agency published early Wednesday offered no suggestion Putin might come to the COP28 site, instead quoting Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov saying he'd land and have a “meeting at the palace” and one-on-one talks with Sheikh Mohammed. Still, some reports suggest Putin could make an appearance at the climate talks.

The U.N.'s Framework Convention on Climate Change's spokesperson Alexander Saier said at a press conference that he is “not aware that Mr. Putin will come to the conference, but I would also need to check the host country with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” He declined to immediately answer whether U.N. police would be obligated to make an arrest.

The Emirati organization committee for COP28 referred questions to the UAE's Foreign Ministry, which did not immediately respond. The UAE repeatedly feted the now-deposed Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir in the past despite an ICC warrant seeking his arrest over charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

“I’m talking about his crimes and this person is literally right now here, somewhere near me," said Alina Abramenko, another worker at the Ukrainian pavilion that highlights the environmental damage wrought by the war. "You know, it’s really strange.”

Ukraine's Defence Minister explains why Zelenskyy cancelled briefing in US Senate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not able to speak at a planned briefing of senators because of the war in Ukraine, and the constantly changing situation.

• On 5 December, Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic majority in the US Senate, said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had cancelled an online briefing for US senators, during which he was to talk about the situation on the front line and Kyiv's need for weapons
  
  
• This speech was important because the US Congress still did not support allocating additional aid to Ukraine, while the previously allocated funds expire this year.
  
  
• Andrii Yermak, Head of the President’s Office, called on the US Congress to vote for the military aid package as soon as possible during his visit to Washington.
  

Charities and NGOs supplying military aid to Ukraine’s armed forces are facing delays of several weeks to critical supplies of drones, electronics and pickup trucks due to border protests by Polish truckers, three industry sources told Reuters.

Britain’s National Crime Agency has issued a warning to banks and the finance industry that Russia may seek to circumvent sanctions through intermediary countries.

Sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine have had a significant impact on its ability to purchase products, including military supplies, on international markets.
However, in an effort to circumvent these controls, Russia is using complex supply chains and alternative supply routes to acquire sanctioned products.

It is just coming up to 3pm in Kyiv. Here is a round-up of the day’s headlines so far:

• Relations between Russia and the United Arab Emirates are at an unprecedented high, Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the United Arab Emirates president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Wednesday. Russia and the UAE cooperate in Opec+ and are involved in major oil and gas projects, Reuters reported. Putin said in televised comments that the situation in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be among the topics of discussion.
  
  
• Russia launched a total of 48 attack drones overnight on Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday, adding that its air defence systems destroyed 41 of the drones before they reached their target. The air force said all of the attack drones were Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones, Reuters reported. It did not say what happened to the drones that were not downed or whether there was any damage from the attack.
  
  
• President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians on Wednesday that Kyiv would defeat Russia and win a fair peace “against all odds” as the future of vital US military and financial aid hung in the balance. Zelenskiy delivered his defiant message in an unusual early-morning video that showed him walking through Kyiv on his way to pay his respects to fallen soldiers on what Ukrainemarks as Armed Forces Day, Reuters reported. “It has been difficult, but we have persevered,” said Zelenskiy, who filmed himself on a mobile phone as he walked from his office down the central Hrushevskoho street towards central Kyiv’s “wall of remembrance”.
  
  
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy will join a video summit of G7 leaders on Wednesday, host Japan said, hours after the Ukrainian president unexpectedly skipped a virtual meeting with US senators at the last minute. Almost two years after Russia’s invasion, the signs are growing that western support for Ukraine is fraying just as a counteroffensive struggles and as president Vladimir Putin’s oil revenues rebound.
  
  
• Britain on Wednesday announced 46 new sanctions against individuals and groups from different countries it said were involved in Russia’s military supply chains and helping sustain its invasion of Ukraine. Those sanctioned included entities operating in China, Serbia and Uzbekistan, Britain’s foreign ministry said.
  
  
• British police said they had issued an alert to financial institutions and other members of the UK regulated sector to warn that Russia was trying to obtain sanctioned goods through intermediary countries. The National Crime Agency, which issued the alert, said Russia was using complex supply chains and alternative supply routes to acquire sanctioned products, Reuters reported.
  
  
• Charities and NGOs supplying military aid to Ukraine’s armed forces are facing delays of several weeks to critical supplies of drones, electronics and pickup trucks due to border protests by Polish truckers, three industry sources told Reuters. Thousands of trucks carrying commercial goods have been backed up for weeks at Poland’s border crossings with Ukraine because of the protests, which began on 6 November. Hauliers in Slovakia began a similar blockade on 1 December.
  
  
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy cancelled a planned address to US senators on Tuesday, with the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announcing the president would not be able to attend the classified briefing because “something came up at the last minute”. The Ukrainian president had been expected to speak to senators over Zoom. The news came a day after the White House sent an urgent warning that Kyiv’s war efforts to defend itself from Russia’s invasion may grind to a halt without further US military and economic assistance. The Biden administration is urging Congress to approve billions of dollars in support for Ukraine.
  
  
• Hungary’s ruling party has submitted a resolution to parliament calling on the government to not support the start of talks on Ukraine’s EU accession. The moves comes as the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is stepping up pressure on Brussels before a crucial EU summit next week, Reuters reported.
  
  
• Sweden has signed a defence co-operation agreement with Washington that will allow the US access to all military bases across the Scandinavian country, saying the deal will bolster regional security. The Swedish defence minister, Pal Jonson, said the deal, signed in Washington on Tuesday, “will create better conditions for Sweden to be able to receive support from the United States in the event of a war or crisis”, AP reported.
  
  
• Six children will be returned to Ukraine from Russia under a deal brokered by Qatar, according to a Qatari official. The children are en route to Ukraine via Moscow, the source said. This is the second phase of a Qatar-mediated return of children, after four minors were returned in October.
  
  
• The British foreign secretary, David Cameron, has told the House of Lords that there will be no reduction in UK military support for Ukraine in 2024. The update comes after the White House warned that “it is weeks away from running out of money to support Kyiv’s defence against Russia’s invasion”.
  
  
• At least two people were killed and one wounded after Russian forces struck the southern city of Kherson, the head of the office of the Ukrainian presidency said. Regional prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into one of the strikes, which occurred at about 9am and killed a 48-year-old man and a woman who had not yet been identified.
  
  
• Russia claims it downed dozens of Ukrainian drones on Tuesday. Russian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted 41 Ukraine-launched drones, the Russian defence ministry has said.
  
  
• Ukraine’s military shot down 10 out of 17 attack drones launched on Tuesday by Russia, Ukrainian authorities said. The governor of Ukraine’s western Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyy, said three drones had struck an unspecified infrastructure target, causing a fire, but damage had been minimal and no casualties had been reported.
  

Nepal takes action against illegal Gurkha recruiters

Nepal has a long-standing tradition of supplying “Gurkha” fighters to foreign services, from British and Indian armies to UN Peacekeepers. Now Kathmandu says they’re in Ukraine fighting on both sides.

Just days after reports of the deaths of Nepalese volunteers fighting in Ukraine appeared, the Kathmandu authorities arrested a gang responsible for recruiting its youth for the Russian army.
Kathmandu also believes Nepalese nationals are illegally serving with both Ukrainian and Russian forces in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

On Tuesday Kyiv Post reported on the death of six Nepalese mercenaries fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine, with another captured by Kyiv’s forces. The government in Kathmandu urged Moscow to stop recruiting its citizens, to send any serving men home and to repatriate the bodies of those who had died.
Nepal prohibits its citizens from joining foreign armies, except where there is a formal agreement, such as it has with Britain and India, which ensures those recruited are trained and treated to appropriate levels both during and after service. There is no such agreement with Russia, who receives its volunteers through “agents” working in Nepal.

The Nepalese government had issued an official warning in August against its citizens engaging in military or security-related work in war-torn countries.
Nepalese police have acted against a gang that is involved in the illegal smuggling of people to Russia over the past week. The police team arrested 12 individuals from various locations in Kathmandu.
According to Kathmandu district police chief Bhupendra Khatri, the gang charged unemployed youths up to $9,000, with the promise of travel visas and employment abroad.

The visas provided were simply “tourist visas” for such destinations as India and the United Arab Emirates where the young men were coerced into volunteering for the Russian army and then forced to fight in Ukraine.
“It is a case of human smuggling… organized crime,” Khatri added.
The Nepal-based, English language news site, My Republica, cited a police source who named those arrested as Dipen Pariyar, Kshitij Giri, Subhash Lama, Manish Neupane, Rosal Maharjan, Hari Bahadur Bishwakarma, Ishwar Adhikari, Gokarna Aryal, Sujata Dahal, Santosh Adhikari, Santosh Nepal and Drona Dangi.

The source said that the arrested individuals were engaged not only in recruiting but also in the preparation of documentation and arranging visit visas. The police officer said, “The number of arrests will increase in a few days.”
On Tuesday a spokesperson said it believed that Nepalese nationals are serving with both Ukrainian and Russian forces but was unable to confirm how many were involved. While Milan Raj Tuladhar, Nepal’s ambassador to Russia said that he believed that as many as 200 Nepalese nationals were serving in the Russian army as mercenaries.
My Republica quoted another police officer who said “If you go to the Russian Embassy in the afternoon, you will see a huge crowd of Nepalis. That’s all the gang’s work. We are trying to reach the leader of the gang.”
Many Nepalese take employment abroad with the money they earn being crucial to Nepal's economy. In 2022 it was estimated that this represented over a quarter of its GDP, according to World Bank figures.
Nepal has a long tradition of providing soldiers for the British and Indian armies based on long-standing formal agreements. Nepalese men have served with the British Army since 1815 as “British Gurkhas,” with India carrying on the tradition after independence and the “Gurkha Contingent” has served with the Singapore Police since 1949.

Nepal is also currently the second largest troops-contributing country for United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in a number of missions around the world. There are also reports of Nepalese volunteers serving with the French foreign legion and even the US army as well as filling security and landmine clearance posts in the Middle East and Africa.

U.K. announces sanctions targeting businesses, individuals seen as aiding 'Putin's war machine'

"This signals the UK’s no tolerance approach to those enabling Russia’s illegal war, wherever they may be", the statement said.

"Pre-invasion Russia was a major exporter of arms. Instead, it is now having to turn to North Korea and Iran for unreliable equipment and to buy back parts it previously exported to other countries. While the world is moving forwards technologically, Russia is going backwards."

Responding to newly announced UK sanctions against individuals and groups from different countries it said were involved in Russia’s military supply chains and helping sustain its invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese embassy in the UK has said:

• UK sanctions against individuals and groups alleged to be involved in Russia’s military supply chains violate international law
  
  
• China has maintained an objective, fair position on Ukraine
  
  
• The UK is urged to correct its mistakes and withdraw the sanctions
  
  
• Any action that harm’s China’s interest will be met with a firm response from China
  

US charges four Russian soldiers with war crimes

Ukrainian temporary corridor in the Black Sea witnesses passage of 200 vessels exporting 7 million tons of cargo

Explosion rings out in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, air defence shoots down Russian missile

The forces of Air Command Skhid (East) shot down a guided air missile in the sky over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the evening of 6 December.

Ukraine's SBU killed fugitive Ukrainian lawmaker in Russia

Closing summary

• The US justice department has filed war crime charges against four members of the Russian military accused of abducting and torturing an American during the invasion of Ukraine in a case that’s the first of its kind. The four Russians are accused of kidnapping the American from his home in a Ukrainian village in 2022. The American man was beaten and interrogated while being held for 10 days at a Russian military compound, before eventually being evacuated with his wife, who is Ukrainian, US authorities said.
  
  
• Relations between Russia and the United Arab Emirates are at an unprecedented high, Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the UAE’s president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Wednesday. Russia and the UAE cooperate in Opec+ and are involved in major oil and gas projects, Reuters reported. Putin said in televised comments that the situation in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be among the topics of discussion.
  
  
• Russia launched 48 attack drones overnight on Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday, adding that its air defence systems destroyed 41 of the drones before they reached their target. The air force said all of the attack drones were Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones, Reuters reported. It did not say what happened to the drones that were not downed or whether there was any damage from the attack.
  
  
• President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians on Wednesday that Kyiv would defeat Russia and win a fair peace “against all odds” as the future of vital US military and financial aid hung in the balance. Zelenskiy delivered his defiant message in an unusual early-morning video that showed him walking through Kyiv on his way to pay his respects to fallen soldiers on what Ukraine marks as Armed Forces Day, Reuters reported. “It has been difficult, but we have persevered,” said Zelenskiy, who filmed himself on a mobile phone as he walked from his office down the central Hrushevskoho street towards central Kyiv’s “wall of remembrance”.
  
  
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy will join a video summit of G7 leaders on Wednesday, the host Japan said, hours after the Ukrainian president unexpectedly skipped a virtual meeting with US senators at the last minute. Almost two years after Russia’s invasion, the signs are growing that western support for Ukraine is fraying just as a counteroffensive struggles and as president Vladimir Putin’s oil revenues rebound.
  
  
• Russian television has shown footage of what it says is a US-built Bradley infantry fighting vehicle captured on the frontline in Ukraine’s Luhansk region after it was immobilised by Russian fire and abandoned by its Ukrainian crew. The presenter of the primetime show on the main Russia 1 channel suggested that the capture of a working Bradley, one of several dozen that Washington has supplied to Ukraine this year, would enable Russian forces to identify its vulnerabilities.
  
  
• Britain on Wednesday announced 46 new sanctions against individuals and groups from different countries it said were involved in Russia’s military supply chains and helping sustain its invasion of Ukraine. Those sanctioned included entities operating in China, Serbia and Uzbekistan, Britain’s foreign ministry said.
  
  
• British police said they had issued an alert to financial institutions and other members of the UK regulated sector to warn that Russia was trying to obtain sanctioned goods through intermediary countries. The National Crime Agency, which issued the alert, said Russia was using complex supply chains and alternative supply routes to acquire sanctioned products, Reuters reported.
  
  
• Ukraine’s SBU agency was responsible for the killing of former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva in Russia, a Ukrainian source told Reuters on Wednesday on condition of anonymity. Kyva was a member of Ukraine’s parliament before Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but had been in Russia throughout the war.
  
  
• Charities and NGOs supplying military aid to Ukraine’s armed forces are facing delays of several weeks to critical supplies of drones, electronics and pickup trucks due to border protests by Polish truckers, three industry sources told Reuters. Thousands of trucks carrying commercial goods have been backed up for weeks at Poland’s border crossings with Ukraine because of the protests, which began on 6 November. Hauliers in Slovakia began a similar blockade on 1 December.
  
  
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy cancelled a planned address to US senators on Tuesday, with the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announcing the president would not be able to attend the classified briefing because “something came up at the last minute”. The Ukrainian president had been expected to speak to senators over Zoom. The news came a day after the White House sent an urgent warning that Kyiv’s war efforts to defend itself from Russia’s invasion may grind to a halt without further US military and economic assistance. The Biden administration is urging Congress to approve billions of dollars in support for Ukraine.
  
  
• Hungary’s ruling party has submitted a resolution to parliament calling on the government to not support the start of talks on Ukraine’s EU accession. The moves comes as the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is stepping up pressure on Brussels before a crucial EU summit next week, Reuters reported.
  
  
• Sweden has signed a defence cooperation agreement with Washington that will allow the US access to all military bases across the Scandinavian country, saying the deal will bolster regional security. The Swedish defence minister, Pal Jonson, said the deal, signed in Washington on Tuesday, “will create better conditions for Sweden to be able to receive support from the United States in the event of a war or crisis”, AP reported.