Summary
Ukraine will become a member of Nato subject to reforms after the war, the military alliance’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said. Nato states still agreed that full membership remained impossible in the midst of war, even while ways to move Ukraine and Nato closer continued, he added.
The Nato secretary-general said that some of the most intense fighting of the war has taken place in recent weeks in the east of Ukraine. Russian forces have made confirmed advances north-west and south-east of Avdiivka over the weekend, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
The UK ministry of defence has described as “plausible” Ukrainian estimates of Russian casualties running at a daily average of almost 1,000 in November. This would, on the face of it, make November 2023 one of the most difficult months for Russian forces, with many of its losses coming from its assault on Avdiivka – although figures on Ukrainian losses were not provided.
Moscow does not have plans to expand its territory any farther in Europe, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, insisted in response to remarks by the US defence secretary last week that Putin would not stop at Ukraine if he was victorious.
Exports to Russia from Turkey of civilian goods used by the military such as microchips and telescopic sights are increasing, causing concern to the US and the EU, which seeks to prevent such items entering the country.
Ancient Scythian artefacts from museums in Russian-occupied Crimea have been returned to Ukraine after a legal dispute over ownership rights during which they spent almost a decade in the Netherlands, a Ukrainian museum said.
Updated
A Russian court has accused Meta Platforms spokesperson Andy Stone of “promoting terrorism” and ordered his arrest, Russian news agencies have reported.
The move follows a crackdown on freedom of speech in Russia following the launch of its war in Ukraine in February 2022, including against social platforms such as Meta that refuse to remove content judged illegal. In October 2022, Russia listed Meta as a “terrorist and extremist” organisation, opening possible criminal investigations and fines for users in the country.
“Andy Mark Stone was (ordered) arrested in absentia in a case of supporting terrorism,” court spokeswoman Olga Nazarova said, according to the Tass news agency. Stone, who is not in Russia, was placed on the interior ministry’s list of wanted people yesterday. The reports did not provide any further details regarding the case.
Facebook and Instagram have been blocked in Russia since shortly after the start of the Ukraine offensive and are only accessible via VPN. Twitter is also banned, as well as Russian independent media critical of the Kremlin.
Before the bans, millions of Russians used applications belonging to Meta, especially Instagram, which remains hugely popular with young Russians, reports AFP.
In April 2022, Russia put Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on a blacklist of people banned from entering the country.
