Ukraine

The European Union on Tuesday agreed to more than quadruple its spending on training Ukrainian soldiers to battle Russia, investing close to an extra 200 million euros ($220 million).

At least 10,000 civilians, including over 560 children, have been killed and more than 18,500 injured since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission there said on Tuesday.

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has signed a working agreement with Ukraine to bolster digital defense cooperation amidst the Russian invasion. The agreement aims to further prepare the cyber capabilities and tools to protect Kyiv and EU states against current and future cyber threats.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition has agreed in principle to double the country's military aid for Ukraine next year to 8 billion euros ($8.5 billion), a political source in Berlin said on November 12. If approved by parliament, where Scholz's parties hold a majority, the boost would lift Germany's defense spending to 2.1 percent of its gross domestic product. 

A joint investigation by The Washington Post newspaper and German outlet Der Spiegel, published on Saturday, singled out Roman Chervinsky, a 48-year-old who served in Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces.

[…] UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric strongly condemned “the latest wave of attacks against critical infrastructure in various parts of the country, which reportedly resulted in injuries among the civilian population, … . He told reporters in New York on Friday that the UN was concerned about escalation and the threat it posed to civilians across the country, as the harsh winter weather approaches.

The United States on Thursday imposed sweeping new measures against Moscow over the war in Ukraine, targeting Russia's future energy capabilities, sanctions evasion and a suicide drone that has been a menace to Ukrainian troops and equipment, among others, in sanctions on hundreds of people and entities.

A new UN report has found continued evidence of war crimes and human rights violations committed by Russian authorities in Ukraine, including torture, rape and the deportation of children. 

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday said it was “deeply concerned” by Russia’s decision to issue arrest warrants against senior judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), following earlier warrants against its Prosecutor and Pre-trial Judges involved in examining potential war crimes in Ukraine. 

As NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels, Zelenskyy makes a surprise visit to ensure focus remains on Ukraine.