Sydney Bondi Beach Shooting Sparks Calls for Stronger Protection of Jewish Community in Australia 
Republicans Raise National Security Concerns Over Intel’s Testing of China-Linked Chipmaking Tools 
Lukashenko Urges Swift Ukraine Peace Deal, Backs Trump’s Push for Rapid Resolution 
Trump Attends Dover Ceremony Honoring U.S. Personnel Killed in Syria 
U.S. Senators Move Toward Deal to Strengthen Military Helicopter Safety Rules 
Italy Supreme Court Upholds Salvini Acquittal in Migrant Kidnapping Case 
Trump Administration Moves to Keep TransAlta Coal Plant Running Amid Rising AI Power Demand 
U.S. Initiates $11.1 Billion Arms Sale to Taiwan Amid Rising China Tensions 
Trump’s Rob Reiner Remarks Spark Bipartisan Outrage After Tragic Deaths 
UN Warns Gaza Humanitarian Aid at Risk as Israel Registration Rules Threaten NGO Operations 
European Leaders Launch International Claims Commission to Compensate Ukraine for War Damage 
Dan Bongino to Step Down as FBI Deputy Director After Brief, Controversial Tenure 
European Leaders Tie Ukraine Territorial Decisions to Strong Security Guarantees 
Federal Judge Declines to Immediately Halt Trump’s $300 Million White House Ballroom Project 
Zelenskiy Urges Allies to Use Frozen Russian Assets as EU Summit Nears 
Trump Weighs Reclassifying Marijuana as Schedule III, Potentially Transforming U.S. Cannabis Industry 
The British defense ministry said that Russian forces are likely planning on surrounding the town of Bakhmut in the partially-occupied territory of Donetsk. The ministry noted that the move would mainly be a political objective for Moscow.
The British defense ministry said in its intelligence bulletin Saturday that Russia was looking to encircle the town of Bakhmut, located in the partially-occupied Ukrainian territory of Donetsk. The ministry said that Russian forces were investing a significant amount of military effort around the town, noting that Russia has made small advances on the southern side of the offensive.
“Russia has prioritized Bakhmut as its main offensive effort since August 2022,” the ministry said.
“The capture of the town would have limited operational value although it would potentially allow Russia to threaten the larger urban areas of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. However, the campaign has been disproportionately costly relative to these possible gains. There is a realistic possibility that Bakhmut’s capture has become primarily a symbolic, political objective for Russia,” said the ministry.
On Saturday, the ministry said that according to recent polling, there has been little public support in Russia for the war. The ministry cited an independent Russian media outlet that claimed to have access to data collected by the country’s Federal Protective Service. According to the data, 55 percent of Russians were in support of peace talks with Ukraine, with only 25 percent claiming to support the war.
The results are apparently in line with a separate survey conducted in October, where 57 percent of respondents were in favor of peace talks. Back in April, 80 percent of Russians claimed to support the war that Moscow calls a “special military operation.”
“With Russia unlikely to achieve major battlefield successes in the next several months, maintaining even tacit approval of the war amongst the population is likely to be increasingly difficult for the Kremlin,” said the ministry.
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron came under fire from Ukraine and Baltic states for suggesting that there would be “security guarantees” for Moscow should it return to negotiations. Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said that the world needs security guarantees from Russia rather than the other way around.
