Ukraine Daily

Saturday, December 3

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A satellite image of the Starokrymske cemetery from Nov. 30, 2022 in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast shows a significant expansion of graves. Over 20,000 people are believed to have been killed during the siege, but the actual number could be much higher. (Maxar Technologies)

As many as 17 Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad have received either letter bombs or blood-stained envelopes. “This campaign is aimed at sowing fear and intimidating Ukrainian diplomats,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with CNN.

Foreign Ministry: Ukraine’s Embassy in Spain also receives blood-stained parcel. Similar packages were earlier sent to the Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, and Austria, the consulates general in Naples and Krakow, and the consulate in Brno.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Vatican says his house was vandalized. Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican, Andriy Yurash, said on Dec. 2 that the entrance to his home in Rome had been smeared by unknown people with what he believed to be animal feces.

Governor: Russia attacks border settlements in Sumy Oblast 76 times on Dec. 2. The Seredyno-Budska, Znob-Novhorodska, Krasnopilska, and Bilopilska communities of the northeastern Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia, came under fire on Dec. 2, Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said on Telegram.

Zelensky approves proposal to ban Moscow-backed church, sanctions bishops. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Dec. 2 to approve a proposal by the National Security and Defense Council to ban Russian-affiliated religious groups and impose sanctions on a number of pro-Moscow bishops.

Police detain people suspected of stealing Banksy graffiti in Kyiv Oblast. The people who cut down the part of the wall insulation with the graffiti on it reportedly said they wanted to sell the artwork and transfer the money to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

IAEA hopes for deal on demilitarized zone around Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by the end of year. “There is a concrete proposal on securing Zaporizhzhia and important progress has been made,” said Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agency director general.

Ministry worsens Ukraine’s GDP forecast amid Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. Ukraine’s GDP is expected to drop as much as 32-33.5% due to Russian missile strikes on energy infrastructure, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said on Dec. 2.

Satellite image shows main cemetery in Mariupol grown significantly. The number of graves at Mariupol’s Starokrymske cemetery on the western side of the city has significantly expanded, according to new satellite imagery published by U.S. satellite imagery company Maxar.

The human cost of Russia’s war

3 civilians killed as Russia attacks 7 Ukrainian regions over past day. Over the past 24 hours, Russian troops hit Kherson Oblast 42 times, killing three people and injuring seven, the oblast governor, Yaroslav Yanushevych, reported on Dec. 2. Attacks on civilian areas were also reported in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Luhansk Oblasts, with injuries and damage to property and infrastructure, but no deaths.

General Staff: Russia has lost 90,090 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Dec. 2 that Russia had also lost 2,916 tanks, 5,883 armored fighting vehicles, 4,464 vehicles and fuel tanks,1,905 artillery systems, 395 multiple launch rocket systems, 210 air defense systems, 280 airplanes, 262 helicopters, 1,564 drones, and 16 boats.

International response

White House: Biden has no intentions to talk to Putin for now. U.S. President Joe Biden is not planning to speak to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine war as Putin has shown no inclination for dialogue, the White House said on Dec. 2.

Google to provide $2 million for digital education of Ukrainians. The grant will be used to train Ukrainians in digital literacy, “bridging the digital divide,” and expanding the Diia Digital Education platform, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Dec. 2.

Der Spiegel: Germany to provide Ukraine with 7 more Gepard tanks to ‘take pressure off’ debate on Patriot systems. According to Der Spiegel, the tanks intended for Ukraine had been initially destined for scrapping.

Minister: Ukraine receives HAWK air defense systems from Spain. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov held a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Margarita Robles in the southern port city of Odesa on Dec. 2 and announced that Ukraine had received Hawk surface-to-air missile launchers from Spain.

Ukraine receives $1.5 billion in budget support from US. The aid is a part of a $4.5 billion grant announced in late November, Ukraine’s Finance Ministry reported on Dec. 2.

EU makes final decision to cap Russian seaborne oil prices at $60 a barrel. On the previous day, EU countries reached a preliminary deal on the issue.

In other news

Belarusian opposition creates ‘free digital state.’ Belarusian software developers Pavel Liber and Yaroslav Likhachevsky announced the launch of the Digital Belarus project on Dec. 2.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Francis Farrell, Thaisa Semenova, Oleg Sukhov, Olga Rudenko, and Lili Bivings.

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