УКРОПИ

 Russian missile, drone attacks cause damage in multiple Ukrainian regions

Officials in western Ukraine said Wednesday a Russian missile attack hit critical infrastructure facilities in the Lviv region, part of a series of attacks that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said included more than 40 missiles and 70 drones.

Zelenskyy said Russia’s targets included “gas and energy facilities that sustain normal life for our people,” and that Ukrainian air defenses shot down 30 of the missiles.

“Thanks to our air defense forces and all involved units, we’ve managed to maintain the functionality of our energy system,” Zelenskyy said.  “However, we must continue strengthening the capabilities of Ukraine’s air shield. Promises made by partners at the NATO summit in Washington and within the Ramstein format still remain partially unfulfilled.”

Ukraine’s military issued air alerts for regions across the country Wednesday, while the national power grid operator instituted power cuts in six regions.

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram that Russian forces attacked overnight with drones and missiles, with fragments from destroyed drones damaging two houses.

In Dnipropetrovsk, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian attacks included artillery, drones and missiles that damaged an industrial site.

Kirovohrad Governor Andriy Raikovich reported on Telegram what he described as a massive Russian drone attack that damaged several residential buildings.

Officials in the Rivne region also said Russian missiles targeted the area overnight.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed two Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod area and another drone over the Tambov region.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that Ukrainian attacks injured one person, while Tambov Governor Yevgeny Pervyshov reported damage to a house.

Some information for this story came from Reuters.
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VOA Russian: Poland approves border securities to deter Russian, Belarusian aggression

As Russian President Vladimir Putin and his key ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, organize waves of illegal immigration into the EU as a tool of their hybrid war against the West, Poland has been building a wall on the border with Belarus, shielding itself from current and potentially future Russia’s hostile efforts.

The wall, more than 5 meters high, stretches for more than 136 kilometers. However, illegal migrants bused to the border by Russian and Belarusian authorities increasingly use garden ladders to scale the wall and get into Poland.

Click here for the full story in Russian.
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US finalizes rules banning Chinese, Russian smart cars

The White House says it has finalized rules that crack down on Chinese and Russian automobile technology effectively banning all personal smart cars from the two countries from entering the U.S. market.

In a White House fact sheet detailing the decision, the Biden administration Tuesday said that while connected vehicles offer advantages, the involvement of foreign adversaries such as China and Russia in their supply chains presents serious risks granting “malign actors unfettered access to these connected systems and the data they collect.”

“The Department of Commerce has issued a final rule that will prohibit the sale and import of connected vehicle hardware and software systems, as well as completed connected vehicles, from the PRC and Russia,” the fact sheet said.

PRC is the acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

Connected vehicles are smart cars that are designed to be convenient for consumers and provide safety for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians through the use of many connected parts such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, and satellite connectivity.

“Cars today aren’t just steel on wheels; they’re computers,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo when speaking on the rule.

“This is a targeted approach to ensure we keep PRC- and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads,” said Raimondo.

The new rule is the “culmination of a year-long examination” of potential risks posed by connected vehicles and will “help the United States defend against the PRC’s cyber espionage and intrusion operations, which continue to pose a significant threat to U.S. critical infrastructure and public safety.”

The crackdown on cars follows Washington’s announcement earlier this month that the U.S. consider new rules aimed at addressing risks posed by drones that utilize technology from China and Russia.

The U.S. has repeatedly emphasized the need to balance technological progress with the protection of national security interests.
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France’s new prime minister announces renegotiation of contested plan to raise retirement age

PARIS — France’s new prime minister, Francois Bayrou, announced Tuesday the renegotiation of a contested plan raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, in a crucial move to seek more stability for his minority government. 

In his first address to lawmakers at the National Assembly, Bayrou said: “I’m choosing to put this subject back on the agenda, with the social partners, for a short time and under transparent conditions.” 

Bayrou vowed to seek “a new path of reform, without any totems or taboos, not even the retirement age,” as long as the financing for the changes is guaranteed. 

President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 unleashed months of mass protests from January to June 2023 that damaged his leadership. 

Bayrou also outlined other top priorities, including key budget decisions, one month after he was appointed by Macron. 

What is Bayrou proposing? 

Bayrou urgently needs to pass a budget bill for 2025. Following the collapse of the previous government, an emergency law has been approved to enable the state to levy taxes from Jan. 1, pay basic expenses and avoid a shutdown. 

But only a proper budget would help reduce France’s deficit and allow key expenses such as defense measures needed amid the war in Ukraine or aid promised to angry farmers. 

Financial markets, ratings agencies and the European Commission are pushing France to comply with EU rules limiting debt and keep France’s borrowing costs from spiraling. That would threaten the prosperity of eurozone countries. 

France’s deficit is estimated to reach 6% of its gross domestic product in 2024. Bayrou on Tuesday said the government was aiming for a deficit of 5.4% this year, with the goal to reduce it to 3% — in line with EU rules — by 2029. 

Can the government be toppled again? 

Bayrou’s Cabinet relies on a fragile deal between Macron’s centrist allies and conservatives of The Republicans party who even together have no parliamentary majority. 

The previous government was in place for only three months before being brought down by opposition lawmakers from both the left and the far right amid a budget dispute. 

To avoid a repetition of that scenario, Bayrou seeks to secure a nonaggression pact with the Socialists so that they wouldn’t support any future move to topple the new government. 

The Socialists said they are open to talks on the condition that they would include negotiations on the pension reform. 

However, the possibility of another no-confidence vote is still looming. 

The hard-left France Unbowed party refused to enter into talks with the government and already announced it would file a no-confidence motion. 

A vote later this week would have little chance of succeeding as the far right appears unwilling to support such a move in the immediate term. 

Yet the question could be raised again during the future budget debate at parliament, with more uncertainty on the result. 

Why are pension reform talks key? 

The pension reform, which was enacted into law in April 2023 despite mass protests, has gradually started being implemented. It also requires people to work 43 years to receive a full pension. 

The Socialists urged Bayrou to announce a “suspension” of the reform with the aim of backtracking on the age of 64 and introducing specific measures for those who have long careers and certain professions considered to be hard work. 

Bayrou on Tuesday stopped short of announcing such a move, yet his proposal to renegotiate it appears as a hand stretched out towards the left. 

He suggested the age of 64, which was the most criticized change, could possibly be decreased depending on the outcome of the negotiations. 

“We cannot deteriorate the financial balance” of the pension system, Bayrou insisted. 

On the other side of the political spectrum, the conservatives had warned against any suspension of the pension changes. 

“If we were to repeal the pension reform, the cost would be 3.4 billion euros ($3.47 billion) in 2025 and almost 16 billion ($16.3 billion) in 2032,” said the president of the Senate, Gerard Larcher, a conservative. 

Does the far right still have leverage? 

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen — Macron’s fiercest rival — was instrumental in ousting the previous government. 

Bayrou consulted her when forming the new government, and Le Pen remains a powerful force. Her National Rally party has the largest single group in the National Assembly, France’s powerful lower house of parliament. 

In recent days, Bayrou’s government sought to sideline Le Pen by negotiating instead with the Socialists, the Greens and the Communists on budget issues. 

The president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, criticized those talks and warned Monday that his party would oppose any budget that would raise the cost of medication, provide more health care for migrants staying illegally in the country and impose new taxes on businesses. Such measures would justify a no-confidence vote, he said. 

But Le Pen faces her own headaches in the months to come — a March court ruling over alleged illegal party financing could see her barred from running for office.
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UK’s antitrust regulator to investigate Google’s search services

LONDON — Britain’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it would investigate Google’s search services using its new powers to see how they impact consumers and businesses, including advertisers, news publishers and rival search engines.

The Competition and Markets Authority, which has gained new powers to examine big tech, said search was vital for economic growth and it was critical that competition was working well.

“Millions of people and businesses relied on Google’s search and advertising services – with 90% of searches happening on their platform and more than 200,000 UK businesses advertising there,” CMA boss Sarah Cardell said in a statement.

“It’s our job to ensure people get the full benefit of choice and innovation in search services and get a fair deal.”

The CMA’s move comes after U.S. prosecutors in November argued to a judge that Google must sell its Chrome browser, share data, and search results with rivals, and take a range of other measures to end its monopoly on online search.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
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Premier of separatist Moldova region says gas cutoff shattered foreign trade

CHISINAU, MOLDOVA — The prime minister of Moldova’s separatist Transniestria region said Monday that the abrupt curtailment of Russian gas supplies that plunged the region into an energy crisis has also shattered both its exports and imports.

The cutoff, prompted by Ukraine’s refusal to renew an agreement allowing Russian gas to transit through Ukraine, has led to daily blackouts in the pro-Russian region of some 350,000 people and disruptions in heating and water supplies.

Prime Minister Alexander Rozenberg told local media that the New Year cutoff had triggered a 43% decline in imports and a 60% plunge in exports in the region, which split from Moldova in the final days of Soviet rule.

“The steepest drop in the volume of export operations … has been registered in the metals sector, in manufacture of machines and in the chemical industry,” he said. “Exports of cement have been completely stopped.”

Transniestria depends heavily on assistance from Moscow and its leaders acknowledge that the Russian gas it has long received was provided free of charge as “humanitarian assistance.”

The gas cutoff affects operations at a thermal plant that provides electricity both for Transniestria and much of the area controlled by the central Moldovan government. Its operations have been switched to coal, and Ukraine, Moldova’s eastern neighbor, has offered to provide supplies.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who has spearheaded the country’s drive to join the EU, called a meeting of Moldova’s Supreme Security Council on Tuesday to discuss energy. Both Moldova and Transniestria have proclaimed states of emergency.

Much of Transniestria’s industry has been forced to close or obliged to operate at night, when there is less strain on the power grid.

Among the factories closed are a cement plant and a steel mill in the town of Rybnita, with the latter accounting for 35% of the region’s budget revenue.

The region’s separatist authorities last week said energy savings had enabled them to reduce rolling blackouts from eight hours a day to three by the weekend. But a blackout of five hours had been announced for Monday.

Moldova, which denounces Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, says Moscow fomented the crisis and has suggested shipping gas on a route through Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

Russian gas giant Gazprom said it will provide no supplies until Moldova settles arrears it estimates at $709 million, a figure disputed by Moldovan authorities.

Transniestria’s leaders say Moldova has done nothing to ease the crisis and reject any notion that Moldova’s government has offered to help purchase power from Western Europe.

More than 30 years after Transniestria waged a brief war against the newly independent Moldovan state, the region continues to exist alongside Moldova with little turmoil. But 1,500 Russian “peacekeepers” remain in the territory and efforts to resolve the separatist dispute have made little headway.
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Biden defends foreign policy record despite ongoing crises

Washington — Outgoing President Joe Biden sought to burnish his foreign policy record Monday and said U.S. adversaries are weaker than when he took office four years ago despite global crises that remain unresolved. 

A week before handing over to President-elect Donald Trump, Biden in a rare State Department speech touted his administration’s backing for Ukraine against Russia’s 2022 invasion and for Israel’s wars in the Middle East. 

Biden said the United States was “winning the worldwide competition” and would not be surpassed economically by China as had been predicted, while Russia and Iran have been weakened by wars without direct U.S. involvement. 

“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker,” Biden said. “We have not gone to war to make these things happen.” 

While wars continue to rage in Ukraine and the Middle East, officials hope a deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas can be reached before Biden departs the White House on Jan. 20. 

Biden said negotiators were close to reaching a deal that would free hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave to allow a surge of humanitarian aid. 

“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said. 

Biden has faced criticism for providing Israel with weapons and diplomatic support during its assault on Gaza after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. 

Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave laid to waste and most of its population displaced. 

Protesters shouting “war criminal” greeted Biden outside the State Department on Monday, some with signs and some throwing red liquid intended to look like blood. 

Biden said he had helped Israel defeat adversaries like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both backed by Iran. The U.S. president also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024. 

“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” he added, noting the collapse of the Syrian Assad government. “There’s no question that our actions contributed significantly.” 
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Russia says Iran’s president will visit this week, sign partnership pact with Putin

Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin will host his Iranian counterpart this week for the signing of a broad partnership pact between Moscow and Tehran, the Kremlin said Monday.

The agreement on “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the countries will be signed during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Moscow on Friday, the Kremlin said.

It added that the leaders will discuss plans for expanding trade and cooperation in transport, logistics and humanitarian spheres along with “acute issues on the regional and international agenda.”

Ukraine and the West have accused Tehran of providing Moscow with hundreds of exploding drones for use on the battlefield in Ukraine and helping launch their production in Russia. The Iranian drone deliveries, which Moscow and Tehran have denied, have allowed for a barrage of long-range drone strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure.

Iran, in turn, wants sophisticated Russian weapons like long-range air defense systems and fighter jets to help fend off possible attacks by Israel.

Pezeshkian will visit Moscow three days before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to broker a peace deal on Ukraine.
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