Hennadii Kats

U.S. lawmakers are seeking ways to pass a bill on aid to Ukraine through the House of Representatives, which has again gone on a two-week vacation. Meanwhile, ammunition shortage is already affecting the battlefield situation, in particular in the battles for Avdiivka.

At the end of this week, two key events made the global media once again mention the Russia-Ukraine war on their front pages.

The disagreement between President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi has reached its maximum because of the general's demand to mobilize hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Western media argue. Meanwhile, Zaluzhnyi himself argues in his editorial for the need to develop a new high-tech military strategy.

European military leaders urge their nations to be preparing for a possible war with Russia. Europeans are especially worried about Donald Trump, who had already threatened to take the country from NATO during his previous term in office and is likely to be elected U.S. president again.

The Biden administration continues to push for the security assistance package for Ukraine, which is likely to be the last one this year. Meanwhile, Beijing is ditching Kyiv’s diplomatic efforts to promote its peace formula.

Ukraine missed the chance to win the war in 2022 because of the hesitancy of its Western partners, a recently published fragment from a book by The Wall Street Journal correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov argues. Meanwhile, CNN reports on the operation of Ukrainian missile defenses against massive Russian attacks.

The United States and other G7 countries are considering the possibility of confiscating the assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to the benefit of Ukraine amid problems with the approval of Western aid to Kyiv. Debates over money for Ukraine and migration policy have already led to a conflict within the Democratic Party and will continue next year, while the Ukrainian military has already been forced to curtail operations due to ammunition shortage.

Leaders of EU member states managed to vote to open negotiations with Ukraine on joining the bloc, but the financial aid package remains blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The U.S. Senate is also debating the U.S. aid package to Kyiv, which is blocked by the Republican Party.

U.S. President Joe Biden made a mistake when he tied aid to Ukraine to security on the Mexico border. In trying to reach a compromise, he instead drew criticism from both conservatives and liberals.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi gave an exclusive interview to The Associated Press, commenting on the battlefield situation and international politics. The president also urged to strengthen defense lines.

Ukrainian security services obtained emails revealing secret plans by Russian and Chinese corporations to build a tunnel, which would connect occupied Crimea with Russia and be protected from attacks by Ukraine.

The media is embracing the anxiety of realizing the consequences of Donald Trump's likely victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Meanwhile, the BBC assesses the scale of draft evasion in Ukraine and the authorities' plans to counter it, CNN reports on the failure of EU plans to supply ammunition to Ukraine, and Reuters explains why Moscow benefits from supporting Hamas terrorists.

Debates around spending bills for the year ahead are ongoing in the U.S. Congress. Despite the replacement of the speaker, the House of Representatives still hasn’t reached an agreement on aid to Ukraine, spending cuts, and other issues, with only a week remaining to settle them.

October was probably the best month for the Russian dictator, who waits patiently for his adversaries to become exhausted, says The Washington Post’s columnist.