Wednesday, November 13

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian medics from the Azov Brigade transfer a wounded Ukrainian soldier by ambulance to a stabilization point in the direction of Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast on November 11, 2024. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump names Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth as incoming US Defense Secretary. President-elect Donald Trump has named Fox News host and veteran Pete Hegseth as the incoming U.S. Defense Secretary, Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Nov. 12.

British PM Starmer to press Biden to release $20 billion aid for Ukraine before Trump takes office, Telegraph reports. The U.K. prime minister will also press for a one-on-one discussion with Joe Biden during the G20 summit.

Ukrainian drone strikes oil depot in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, local official claims. In recent months, Ukrainian forces have launched a series of drone strikes aimed at damaging Russia’s oil industry, whose profits fuel Moscow’s war efforts.

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Ukraine’s 2025 budget includes $13 billion for weapons production, minister says. Some Hr 54.55 billion ($1.3 billion) will be directly allocated for the development and implementation of new technologies, and the expansion of defense production capacity, according to Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin.

Russia deploys assault groups to Zaporizhzhia Oblast, military says. According to Voloshyn, Russia is preparing to intensify its offensive toward the town of Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Trump confirms he chose Waltz as national security advisor. Waltz is a Congressman from Florida and a retired Army Green Beret.

Read our exclusives

Russia preparing a 50,000-people-strong offensive in latest attempt to push Ukrainian army out of Kursk Oblast

Over the past week, Russia had been gathering forces in what appears to be preparations for a decisive push in the country’s Kursk Oblast.

Photo: Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian drone strikes oil depot in Russia; Ukrainian volunteers in Poland sign contracts with Armed Forces

A Ukrainian drone struck an oil depot in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, igniting one silo, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on his Telegram channel on Nov. 12.

Photo: Oleksandr Magula/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Human cost of war

For 2nd day straight, Russia’s reported losses in Ukraine surge to record levels. The figure surpasses the previous record of 1,770 set just the day before.

Opinions and insights

Marco Rubio’s stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine — what we know

Republican Senator Marco Rubio is likely to be the next U.S. secretary of state, according to reports on Nov. 12 that mark the latest insight into how President-elect Donald Trump’s White House will approach Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Orban’s hold on Hungary weakens as opposition unites behind unlikely challenger

Budapest was hosting the European Political Community gathering, with Orban hugging it out with the continent’s leaders whose standing at home leaves them little leeway to challenge the Russian-friendly prime minister.

Photo: Janos Kummer/Getty Images

International response

Marco Rubio likely to be Trump’s secretary of state, Reuters reports. If appointed, Marco Rubio will replace Antony Blinken.

Trump’s plan for Russia’s war in Ukraine needs to be taken seriously, Finnish president says. After a call with Trump on Nov. 11, Alexander Stubb said his intentions after taking office in January 2025 are clear.

Moldova protests to Moscow over election interference, downing of Russian drones. The Moldovan Foreign Ministry protested to the Russian ambassador against “Russia’s illegal interference in the elections and referendum in Moldova to distort their results, undermine and delegitimize the democratic process in Moldova.”

Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project has cut gas production to almost zero, Bloomberg reports. The fields supplying the plant pumped an average of 0.4 million cubic meters of gas per day in the first ten days of November, Bloomberg reported, citing a person with knowledge of industry data.

Lavrov to lead Russian delegation to G20 summit instead of Putin in light of his possible arrest in Brazil. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2023 issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest due to his role in the deportation of Ukrainian children. Brazil is a party to the ICC’s Rome Statute and, therefore, is required to detain Putin if he enters the country.

UK may deploy forces to Ukraine if future US aid declines, former UK PM Boris Johnson warns. Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the U.K. may need to send troops to Ukraine if U.S. support or military funding is reduced, GB News reported on Nov. 12.

In other news

Russian state TV airs explicit photos of Melania Trump as they congratulate her husband on election victory. It’s not immediately clear why the government-controlled TV and its prime-time news program chose this particular angle.

Ukrainian volunteers in Poland sign contracts with Armed Forces. After signing the contracts, the volunteers went to a Polish Armed Forces military training ground to undergo 35-day basic training.

Kyiv urges Estonian film festival to cancel Russian ‘Deaf Lovers’ film screening. Ukraine’s State Film Agency has urged the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (POFF) to remove the Russian film “Deaf Lovers” from its main programming, protesting the film’s depiction of relations between Russians and Ukrainians, the agency announced on Nov. 12.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Chris York, Boldizsár Győri, Oleg Sukhov, Kateryna Hodunova, Sonya Bandouil, and Dmytro Basmat.

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