Today's Contents
Just The Facts:
- Russia strikes Ukraine military facility with new missiles, Putin says
- Three of DTEK's thermal plants hit in weekend attacks, industry source says
- Korea's Daedong signs $21.4 million deal to export tractors to Ukraine
- Ukraine 'Army of Recovery' surpasses 200,000 temporary workers in 2 years
Here's What They Think:
- Ukraine may end up becoming Europe's "insoluble, festering, forever-problem," according to an op-ed in Brussels Signal
- A ceasefire in Ukraine is now more likely than ever with Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, according to a Stratfor column.
- The war in Ukraine is driven by American interests, for which the US government bears responsibility and should be held accountable, says an op-ed piece in the New Jersey Herald.
Sober Second Thought:
- Ukraine's youth are grappling with a profound decline in quality of life alongside intense psychological and emotional challenges, according to a study by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the British Council.
The Rebuilder's Social:
- Social media posts today cover a catalog of Ukrainian agricultural exporters launched with USAID, the "Italy Supports Made in Ukraine" forum held yesterday, an agreement between the US and Ukraine on critical minerals, and more.
Russia strikes Ukraine military facility with new missiles, Putin says
In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow fired on Thursday hypersonic ballistic missiles at a Ukrainian military facility, warning that more could follow, as cited in a Reuters report.
Putin has warned that the war in Ukraine is escalating, saying Moscow fired the missiles in response to Ukraine's use of US and British long-range missiles.
"From that moment, as we have repeatedly underscored, a regional conflict in Ukraine previously provoked by the West has acquired elements of a global character," he said.
"We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities," Putin stated. "If anyone else doubts this, then they are wrong - there will always be a response."
"I believe that the United States made a mistake by unilaterally destroying the treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles in 2019 under a far-fetched pretext," Putin said, in reference to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
"Let me remind you that Russia has voluntarily, unilaterally committed itself not to deploy medium-range and shorter-range missiles until such time as American weapons of this kind appear in any region of the world," Putin added.
An unnamed US official told Reuters that Russia reportedly has "experimental" intermediate-range ballistic missiles that were used on Thursday.
In a video statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia fired a new missile, which has "all the characteristics – speed, altitude … (of an) intercontinental ballistic (missile)," adding that an expert investigation is underway.
During an interview with Atlantic Council, US Republican Representative Michael McCaul said that Putin did not listen to President-elect Donald Trump's request to de-escalate the war in Ukraine.
"I know that the president-elect met with Putin and said please do not escalate. He has not taken the president-elect’s advice," McCaul said, adding: "In fact, what we’re seeing is almost a counteroffensive now."
Russia strikes three of DTEK's thermal plants, industry source says
Russia's weekend missile strikes on Ukraine hit three of the working thermal plants owned by DTEK, the country's largest private power producer, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed industry source
On Sunday, Moscow fired more than 200 missiles and drones, raising concerns about the Ukrainian energy system as winter starts.
Out of the three damaged power stations, one remains completely offline, the source said, without disclosing how long it would take to fully repair the plants.
Separately, speaking on the sidelines of COP29, DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko presented the impact of Russian missile attacks on the company's facilities and the constant attempts to rebuild and repair the damage, as reported by the Associated Press.
"What other choice do we have?" said Timchenko. "Sit and wait and pray that they don’t hit us, or do our job and bring lights back to our people?"
Timchenko mentioned that rebuilding damaged thermal generation plants usually takes from three to four months to rebuild. On the other hand, renewable energy allows faster reconstruction and repair. Russia's attack on two DTEK solar farms destroyed solar panels and some of the transformers, and replacing the damaged parts took seven days.
"That's the difference between centralized and so-called decentralized generation. It’s much more resistant and difficult to destroy," Timchenko noted.
The US State Department's bureau of energy assistant secretary, Geoffrey Pyatt, said the Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure have evolved over time, as Moscow focused on transformers between 2022 and 2023.
"The Ukrainians were incredibly efficient in working around those attacks," Pyatt commented. "So Putin changed his tactics beginning in March to go after generation capacity."
Pyatt highlighted that, since March, around 50% of Ukraine's power generation capacity has been offline, leaving only nuclear, some hydropower and large new renewable projects, including a wind farm being built by DTEK.
While highlighting that he cannot speak on behalf of the incoming Donald Trump administration, Pyatt emphasized that he believed support for Ukraine's energy sector would "continue in any scenario."
"If you start to get big American companies like GE and Fluxus and Honeywell involved in energy reconstruction, and there's going to be billions of dollars of energy reconstruction," Pyatt said.
Korea's Daedong signs $21.4 million deal to export tractors to Ukraine
South Korea's agricultural machinery company Daedong said it has signed a three-year agreement to export tractors worth KRW 30 billion ($21.5 million) to Ukraine.
In a press release on Thursday, Daedong described the move as a "full-scale entry" into the Ukrainian agricultural machinery market worth $715 million.
Daedong said it has been discussing cooperation in a Ukrainian agricultural reconstruction project with key local figures, including Oleksandr Denysenko, a lawmaker in Odesa and a supervisory board member of the city's development agency, since last year.
In June this year, Daedong sign a pilot contract to distribute 10 of its tractors to Ukraine to test the local market. Following the completion of the project, Denysenko and others visited Daedong's headquarters in Seoul for the signing of the newest contract, according to the statement.
"Ukraine is currently in a similar situation to Korea in the 1940s and 1950s, and we hope that Daedong's agricultural machinery will help restore and develop the agricultural industry," Denysenko stated. "We would like to strengthen our partnership in various fields of future agriculture that Daedong is promoting."
Ukraine is one of the world's three largest granaries and ranks fourth in terms of agricultural product exports. As of 2022, agricultural product exports amounted to $23.6 billion, Daedong noted, adding that Ukraine's annual tractor imports rose by 4.6% year-on-year to $830 million in 2023.
Ukraine 'Army of Recovery' program has hired 200,000 temporary workers over 2 years
Ukraine's "Army of Recovery" public works program has hired more than 200,000 temporarily unemployed Ukrainians since it began two years ago, the Ukrainian government said in a press release.
The project aims to provide unemployed Ukrainians with a temporary job that focuses on the reconstruction and restoration of infrastructure, residential premises, and civil defense facilities.
The Army of Recovery currently works in 19 regions of Ukraine. The most active participants in the restoration efforts are in Kharkiv, with 32,000 referrals.
As of October, unemployment among internally displaced Ukrainians has reached 24%, according to a report published on Thursday by the International Organization of Migration (IOM).
Brussels Signal: Ukraine risks becoming Europe's 'forever problem'
Ukraine may end up becoming Europe's "insoluble, festering, forever-problem" and a recurring cause of conflict with a major military power, Deputy Director of the London-based think tank Council on Geostrategy Gabriel Elefteriu wrote in an op-ed for Brussels Signal, adding that US President-elect Donald Trump will play a crucial role in the Ukraine endgame, while Europe will be on the sidelines.
Stratfor: Ceasefire in Ukraine more likely than ever with Trump's win
A ceasefire in Ukraine is now more likely than ever with Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, Director of Analysis at a network-based risk intelligence company RANE Adriano Bosoni wrote in a column for Stratfor. Basoni added that the cease-fire is likely to occur on terms favoring Russia and may not guarantee lasting peace.
New Jersey Herald: Biden's relentless pursuit of war in Ukraine 'shameful'
The war in Ukraine is driven by American interests, for which the US government bears responsibility and should be held accountable, a former New Jersey Superior Court Judge, Andrew P. Napolitano, wrote in an op-ed for New Jersey Herald. Napolitano pointed out that the US Constitution separated the war-declaring power from the war-waging power for a reason.
Severe uncertainty, disrupted social ties sharply degrade Ukrainian youths' quality of life amid war, research finds
Ukraine's youth are grappling with a profound decline in quality of life alongside intense psychological and emotional challenges amid the ongoing war with Russia, research by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the British Council found.
The research was conducted through online focus groups with 36 young people in Ukraine aged 14-35 and an additional ten in-depth interviews focused on vulnerable youth.
More than half of the focus group respondents rated the impact of war on their lives as extremely negative.
The war's negative impacts include fears for the safety and health of loved ones, persistent uncertainty, declining quality of life, severe psychological and emotional strain, and disrupted social ties and education.
Vulnerable groups, such as internally displaced people, face added challenges like high living costs and limited access to housing, clothing, and other essentials, while students struggle with interrupted education, remote learning difficulties, and teacher shortages caused by conscription and emigration.
Most young Ukrainians reported having no long-term plans, with their planning typically limited to just one month ahead, according to the research.
Many young Ukrainians anticipate the war will last several more years, ending in Ukraine's victory and leading to its accession to the European Union and NATO.
Anatoliy Tsyurkun, CEO of the UCABevent and UCABtravel agencies of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club Association, promoted a catalog of Ukrainian agricultural commodities exporters, prepared in conjunction with USAID.
Roman Opimakh, director general of the Ukrainian Geological Survey, announced that the US and Ukrainian governments have signed a memorandum "on cooperation to strengthen critical mineral resources supply chains for energy, national security and economic development. 23 out of 50 minerals identified by the USA as critical are located on the territory of our country."
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted about her participation in Rome in the "Italy Supports Made in Ukraine" forum, which gathered over 250 Ukrainian and Italian companies to discuss "cooperation in critical materials, and support for energy recovery."
UkraineInvest, the state investment promotion agency, posted about legislative changes that it says are "opening up new prospects for investors," including in mineral extraction, waste management, warehousing, healthcare, manufacturing, biogas production and other areas.
Ukrainian law firm Sayenko Kharenko posts the second episode of its deep dive series on the challenges of enforcing arbitral awards involving sanctioned entities in Ukraine. This episode explores "the peculiarities of recognizing and enforcing arbitral awards when counterparties are under sanctions."
