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Linking Ukraine’s military assistance to U.S. border security interjects one of the most divisive domestic political issues — immigration and border crossings — into the middle of an intensifying debate over wartime foreign policy. Failure risks delaying U.S. military aid to Kyiv and Israel, along with humanitarian assistance for Gaza, in the midst of two wars, potentially undermining America's global standing. Rather than approve Biden’s request, which includes $61 billion for Ukraine, Republicans are demanding something in return. Democrats call these essentially nonstarters, and the border security talks are going slowly. Other Republicans, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Donald Trump ally, have drawn an even deeper line against Ukraine aid.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden’s, ”, Luke Coffey, Andriy Yermak, Coffey, Vladimir Putin’s, Mitch McConnell, It’s, “, Sen, Chris Murphy, Conn, Biden, Tom Cotton, McConnell, Sabrina Singh, Democratic Sen, Jack Reed, Mike Garcia of, Garcia, Mike Johnson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump, Lolita C, Baldor, Ellen Knickmeyer, Stephen Groves Organizations: WASHINGTON, Hudson Institute, Republican, Associated Press, NORC, for Public Affairs Research, Biden, Republicans, Democrats, Senate, The Defense Department, Defense Department, Congressional Research Service, World Bank . National, Democratic, Senate Armed Services Committee, Russia, Kyiv, Navy, Rep Locations: Washington, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Mexico, U.S, Kyiv, Gaza, Ukrainian, United States, Kentucky, Russian, Rhode Island, ”, Mike Garcia of California, Iraq, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia

☆ Ukraine has fallen behind Russia in the drone production race, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine is falling behind Russia when it comes to the future of warfare, an expert told Insider. "The Ukrainians are way behind the Russians on drones, and this is the future of the war," Haring said. "Ukraine doesn't have enough drone pilots, and they don't have enough sophisticated drones." "Ukraine led in the technological race at the beginning, but the size and the scale of Russia is now working in its favor. It means that Ukraine has to make some choices about which specific drones it wants to invest in," Bendett said.

Persons: Melinda Haring, —, Melissa Haring, Haring, They're, Samuel Bendett, Bendett Organizations: Atlantic Council, Service, Russia, Russian, Ukrainian, The New York Times, Center for Naval Analyses Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Turkish, Moscow, Ukrainian, Washington

But officials have made clear recently that other forms of US aid are potentially in jeopardy if Ukraine does not do more to address corruption. The US has provided Ukraine with over $23 billion in direct budget support since the war began, according to the Congressional Research Service. In a statement to CNN, the Ukrainian embassy in Washington said that Ukraine has moved “ambitiously” to pass reforms, including on its IMF program. That money is also the “most closely scrutinized” form of aid to Ukraine, a senior Democratic Senate aide told CNN. The US intends to provide up to $3.3 billion in direct economic aid to Ukraine if Congress authorizes its $24 billion supplemental request for Ukraine.

Persons: Biden, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, Volodymyr Zelensky, Matthew Miller, Miller, ”, Denys Shmyhal, Blinken, “, It’s, Megan Reed, Sen, Lindsey Graham, Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, The State Department, Congressional Research Service, United States Agency for International Development, USAID, World Bank, Ukrainian Ministry of Finance, International Monetary Fund, IMF, National Bank of, General Prosecutors, National Security, Ukrainian, White, Ukrainska Pravda, Government of, EU, State Department, NATO, Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Democratic, Republicans, Pentagon, The Defense, Ukrainian MoD Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Washington, National Bank of Ukraine, USA, Russia, Kyiv, Europe, Government of Ukraine, United States, EU

☆ A landmark agricultural deal that guarantees food security for tens of millions is set to expire on Monday as Russia debates its renewal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Black Sea deal has allowed Ukraine to ship more than 30 million tons of produce from three major ports, helping to bring down global food prices down after they spiked following Russia's invasion. Last week, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin outlining proposals to salvage the deal. REUTERS/Nacho Doce Nacho Doce | ReutersBefore Russian troops poured over Ukraine's borders in late February 2022, Kyiv and Moscow accounted for almost a quarter of global grain exports. Those agricultural shipments came to a halt for nearly six months until representatives from Ukraine, Russia, the U.N. and Turkey agreed to establish a humanitarian sea corridor under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. One of Moscow's top demands though is for the Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhozbank, to return to the SWIFT banking system.

Persons: Akos Stiller, Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, U.N, Stephane Dujarric, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Sean Gallup, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, That's, SWIFT Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty Images WASHINGTON, Kremlin, REUTERS, Reuters, Russian, Food, Sea Initiative, Russian Agricultural Bank, Society, Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication Locations: Bicske, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, UN, Turkey, Odesa, Kyiv, Ukraine's, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Yuzhny, Moscow's

☆ Canada just seized one of Russia's dwindling supply of massive heavy-lift cargo planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The aircraft was an Antonov An-124, one of the biggest transport aircraft in the world. It was one of the few heavy-lift transport aircraft that Russia's military still has in operation. This month, Canada confiscated an Antonov An-124, one of the biggest transport aircraft in the world. Soon afterward, Canada closed its airspace to Russian aircraft in response to Moscow's attack on Ukraine on February 24. A Volga Dnepr Airlines Antonov An-124 grounded at Canada's Pearson International Airport in May 2022.

Persons: Antonov, —, Canada's, Steve Russell, Putin's, Ruslan Kaniuka, Jan Woitas, Antonov —, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Pearson Airport, Volga Dnepr, Volga Dnepr Airlines Antonov, Canada's Pearson International Airport, Toronto Star, Getty, Wall Street, Dnepr Airlines LLC, Dnepr Group, Canada, Crown, Government, Kyiv, Antonov, Publishing, Soviet, Royal United Services Institute, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russian Air Force, NASA, SpaceX, NATO, Soviets, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Canada, Russian, Toronto, Ukraine, Volga Dnepr Airlines, Volga, Hostomel, Soviet, British, Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukrainian, Crimea, Forbes

Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, at his office in the city hall of Mariupol, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. Russian service members work on demining the territory of Azovstal steel plant during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022. A view shows the building of a theatre destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 10, 2022. Before Russia's invasion last February, Mariupol was affectionately known as the mighty Ukrainian city with a fierce, steel heart. A local resident reacts while speaking outside a block of flats heavily damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 18, 2022.

☆ How weapons from Western allies are strengthening Ukraine's defence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +15 min

In the months after, artillery ammunition came, then Western artillery and vehicles. Ground-Launched Small Diameter BombAdd a description of the graphic for screen readers. Add a description of the graphic for screen readers. Although it uses a NATO-standard calibre for its main gun--120mm--the Challenger 2's barrel is rifled, unlike the smoothbore weapons used in other Western tanks. Air defense Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, including power plants and residential buildings, have come under increasing attack from Russian missiles and one-way drones, often launched from outside Ukraine's territory.

☆ Russia and Ukraine have a lot of the same tanks and jets, but Kyiv has a decisive 'flesh and bone' advantage, top US enlisted leader says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia and Ukraine have often fought against each other using the same military hardware. But Ukraine has a "human dynamic" advantage that Russia lacks, a top US enlisted leader said. US and Ukrainian officials have praised the role of Ukraine's NCOs during the conflict for being leaders on the front lines. "The government of Ukraine decided to go all in on an NCO development model," Colón-López said this week. "It is definitely a decisive advantage that the Ukrainians have that the Russians do not."

☆ G7 raises Ukraine support to $39 bln for 2023, urges IMF programme by March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Flags are pictured during the first working session of G-7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. Ukraine is hoping to clinch a $15 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund that will cover immediate financial assistance and support for structural reforms to underpin efforts at post-conflict rebuilding. "For 2023, based on the Government of Ukraine's needs, we have increased our commitment of budget and economic support to $39 billion," the statement said. The bloc's financial leaders have gathered in India's Bengaluru ahead of a meeting of financial chiefs of the Group of 20 (G20) nations. Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki also told reporters that the G7 needs to assess the effectiveness of current sanctions on Russia before deciding on further action.

☆ Ukraine's parallel war on corruption to unlock door to West
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The activity reflects a parallel war Kyiv is waging against high-level graft, according to Reuters interviews with half a dozen Ukrainian anti-corruption monitors and officials. It had been repeatedly opened and closed for two years due to procedural errors and shortcomings, SAPO prosecutors said at the time of the hold-ups. New anti-corruption cases include a probe launched in October into a former tax chief suspected of taking more than $20 million in kickbacks. SAPO prosecutors, for instance, earn at least $2,500 per month, or six times more than the Ukrainian monthly average. Kateryna Butko, a civic activist serving on the SAPO selection committee, acknowledged that Ukraine's fight against graft is often plodding.

☆ Ukrainians push for US to support
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Ukrainian officials traveled to the United States last week to push for support for the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute top-level Russian officials for the crime of aggression. “We have a loophole, a gap in accountability, when we talk about accountability for the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” Korynevych told CNN in Washington, DC, last week. It has faced pushback from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is carrying out its own investigation into reported war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out in Ukraine. “The crime of aggression is a leadership crime,” Korynevych said. “We are carefully reviewing proposals for a special tribunal dedicated to the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said.

It showed 2022-23 Ukraine corn production at 25.8 million tonnes versus USDA’s official estimate of 31.5 million. However, official USDA estimates also use this general “policy in place” framework, so it is a decent bet that the approach was similar. That means its Ukraine estimates still include Crimea and all Russian-occupied areas, and no land area has been added to Russia. CHINA CORNThe market was tipped off in mid-2020 that something may be amiss with Chinese corn stocks as domestic prices began rallying well before U.S. ones. In other words, it appears USDA does not have hard, indisputable evidence of a strong decline in Chinese corn stocks.

☆ EU urges Russia to revoke Ukraine Black Sea grain deal suspension
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A view shows silos of grain from Odesa Black Sea port, before a shipment of grain as the government of Ukraine awaits signal from UN and Turkey to start grain shipments, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine July 29, 2022. Russia said it had repelled the attack but that the ships targeted were involved in ensuring the grain corridor out of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff accused Russia on Saturday of inventing attacks on its own facilities. Kyiv often accuses Russia of using the Black Sea Fleet to fire cruise missiles at Ukrainian civilian targets, a charge supported by some military analysts, who say that makes the fleet a legitimate military target. Zelenskyy called for a strong response from the United Nations and Group of 20 (G-20) major economies to what he called Russia's nonsensical move on the grain deal.

☆ Russia Moves to Pull Out of Ukraine Grain Deal After Blasts Hit Crimean Port
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Isabel Coles | Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Russia said Saturday that it would suspend participation in the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports, in response to an attack on the occupied Black Sea port of Sevastopol that it blamed on the government of Ukraine. The Defense Ministry said in a statement published on Telegram that ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships involved in ensuring the security of the so-called grain corridor had come under attack. As a result, “the Russian side suspends participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports,” the statement said.

WINNIPEG, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Canada will sell a government-backed, 5-year bond to raise money for Ukraine and it will impose new sanctions on 35 Russian individuals, including Gazprom (GAZP.MM) executives, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday. "These funds will go to support the Government of Ukraine so they can continue to support the Ukrainian people," he said. Canada has one of the world's biggest Ukrainian diasporas outside of countries that border Ukraine, and the community has lobbied Ottawa to impose increasingly strict sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February. Trudeau did not say when the bonds would go on sale. The equivalent of the income raised will be channeled "directly to Ukraine" through an International Monetary Fund administered account, the statement said.

☆ Russia’s invasion causes damage across Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Michael Ovaska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Graphics Russia’s invasion causes damage across UkraineRussia's invasion of Ukraine has caused widespread destruction with direct damages of over $97 billion as of June 1 according to a report by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government and the European Commission. Note: As of June 1, 2022 Sources: World Bank, the government of Ukraine and the European CommissionThe report — the first comprehensive damage assessment of the war's impact on Ukraine — provided preliminary figures that will rise as the war continues. Regions like Kyiv and Chernihiv retaken by Ukrainian troops and returned to government control accounted for 22% of damages. Map of Ukraine showing regions of Ukraine and proportional circles for the cost of damage by region. RebuildUA, a project that analyzes the destroyed infrastructure of Ukraine, used drone footage and satellite images to determine 23% of Irpin buildings were damaged.

☆ Ukrainian celebrity crowdfunds radar satellite for armed forces
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Aug 18 (Reuters) - A well-known Ukrainian TV host has crowdfunded a gift to help Ukraine's armed forces beat back Russia's invasion: usage rights to a radar satellite that can see through clouds. TV star Serhiy Prytula and Finnish satellite company ICEYE OY confirmed the deal in separate statements on Thursday. "The contract signed with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation will initially provide the Government of Ukraine with the full capabilities for one of ICEYE's satellites already in orbit," the company said. "In addition, ICEYE will provide access to its constellation of SAR satellites, allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to receive radar satellite imagery on critical locations with a high revisit frequency," it said on its website. ($1 = 36.2500 hryvnias)Reporting by Max Hunder; editing by Tom Balmforth and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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