US-China deal scuppered Polish jet transfer, Orban admits Russia is a threat

Weekend Catch-up Edition:

• The U.S. blocked a Polish plan to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine as part of a deal with China.

According to a new report in The Spectator, by keeping Polish jets out of Ukrainian hands, the U.S. received a Chinese guarantee to put pressure on Putin to back down on his threats of using nuclear weapons in his full-scale war against Ukraine. A Chinese source told the magazine the deal worked – Ukraine was blocked from receiving the MiG-29s, while Chinese generals reached out to their Russian counterparts.

• Russia continues to use foreign-made components in precision missile manufacturing, despite sanctions.

The missiles rely on GLONASS, a Russian variant of the more common GPS systems, to target Ukrainian objects – and uses foreign-made chips to access the GLONASS system. According to Ukrainian intelligence, a number of U.S., UK, and Swiss companies continue to manufacture GLONASS-capable chips.

• The Pentagon has built an artillery repair facility in Poland to service materiel donated to Ukraine.

Nearly one-third of the donated artillery pieces currently in use with the Ukrainian armed forces are out of service due to burnout or combat damage, and their repair is a priority for the U.S. military’s European command, the New York Times writes. “Swapping out a howitzer’s barrel, which can be 20 feet long and weigh thousands of pounds, is beyond the capability of soldiers in the field,” the newspaper explained.

• Ukraine will be intensifying offensive operations in the coming days.

CIT analyst Kyrylo Mykhailov noted that freezing country roads – as the weather rolls over to winter – will allow for military equipment to use paths that were earlier inaccessible due to mud or rough terrain. "During World War Two, offensive actions intensified in winter in these regions. The advantage was with the side that was better prepared for winter conditions,” Mykhailov said.

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban admits that Russia is a security threat to the European Union.

Walking back earlier statements about the need for Europe to remain ‘exempt’ from the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Orban stated that Ukraine’s sovereignty is crucial for Europe’s further security. He made this point not longer after a scandal erupted between Budapest and Kyiv after Orban was photographed wearing a tie displaying a map of ‘Greater Hungary’ – a political construction that includes several territories currently recognized as Ukrainian.

• Ukraine’s electrical deficit has dropped to 20% following mass missile strikes on the country’s power grig.

The demand for power from critical infrastructure facilities is about 10% of general demand, with the rest of the power going to other customers, Ukraine’s grid operator Ukrenergo stated. In this case, grid operators can limit clients evenly, using rolling blackout schedules. Earlier, Ukrainian power technicians had managed to reduce the deficit in generation and demand from 30% to 25%.

• Meanwhile, 73% of Ukraine’s mobile network coverage has been reinstated as of this weekend.

• The World Bank has provided $4.5 billion in U.S.-granted funds to cover Ukraine’s budget deficit.

The funds come from the World Bank’s PEACE (Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance in Ukraine) project, and will allow the Ukrainian government to continue paying government wages, social payments, and other critical expenditures, Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said.

• Over 15,000 people have gone missing in the nine months of full-scale war in Ukraine.

According to International Commission on Missing Persons director Matthew Holliday, the figure of 15,000 is approximate, considering that in Mariupol alone, according to the Ukrainian authorities, at least 25,000 people are believed to have died or gone missing.

• Ukraine begins the Grain from Ukraine program to provide food for developing countries in Africa and Asia.

Ukraine plans to send 10 grain cargo ships per month to countries at risk of shortages, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The first vessel under the program, the Nord Find, departed Ukraine on Nov. 15 with 27,000 tons of wheat destined for the ports of Ethiopia.

This project compliments a newly announced initiative to provide $24 million in food aid to Sudan, Yemen, Kenya, and Nigeria.

• The day’s long read: Seven figures that reveal the scale of the genocidal Holodomor

On Nov. 26, Ukrainians mark Holodomor Remembrance Day, in honor of the victims of the Soviet-made famine in the early 20th century that murdered millions of Ukrainians. NV has collected some of the most salient facts to bring light to this oft-ignored tragedy.

• Don’t miss: How many Ukrainians will be below the poverty line in 2023, will there be a new wave of migration?

Director of the Rating Lab research laboratory, Marianna Tkalich, spoke to NV about the upcoming new wave of Ukrainian evacuees to Europe, and the drastic increase in poverty among the Ukrainian population – from 2% to over 55% from the start of the full-scale war.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine