“Secretary of State Rubio will skip the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting at a key moment for Ukraine,” according to Reuters. The meeting will be held on December 3 in Brussels. According to the agency, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will represent the United States. Still on the subject of NATO decisions, the latter is preparing for the possibility of confronting Russia with much less US support, while Washington reduces its forces and focuses on Asia.
A major military exercise in Romania showed that European forces, led by France, were primarily training for their own defense, revealing serious weaknesses in logistics, air defense, intelligence, and long-range strike capabilities, which remain heavily dependent on the United States.
Confirming the anti-Russian moves is a statement by Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of the Alliance’s Military Committee, in an interview with the FT. He said NATO is considering a “preemptive strike” against Russia in response to hybrid attacks. “We are considering acting more aggressively and preemptively instead of simply reacting…” “A ‘preemptive strike’ can also be seen as a defensive action,” said Giuseppe Cavo Dragone.
“I don’t want any of our partners to have any questions about Ukraine. The decisions have been made,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, in light of the resignation letter from Yermak, the former Head of the Presidential Office. President Zelensky then ordered the Cabinet and parliamentarians “to approve the budget, appoint the new ministers of Energy and Justice, and evaluate the performance of all serving ministers. The SBU will conduct an analysis of the police system and the regions. Decisions will be made. There is a lot of negativity from the regions.” He also said: “The Army! There are problems. There will be an equal distribution of personnel among the brigades. A decision will be made.”
On November 29, Yermak announced his intention to go to the front, and on December 1, he posted a photo from the front. The State Border Service of Ukraine has received an order not to allow Yermak to leave the country, according to Ukrainian media.
Amid the scandal surrounding the searches and the one involving the former head of the presidential administration, Yermak, searches were also conducted at the home of Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Kyiv: 500,000 residents without power due to the shelling, DTEK reported, with outages recurring throughout the weekend.
“In the coming days, we will concretely define the steps to determine how to end the war with dignity,” said Zelenskyy, who met Macron in Paris on December 1, according to BFMTV. The Coalition of the Willing has completed work on “security guarantees” for Ukraine and intends to discuss them with the United States, Macron said.
On November 30, Umerov reported the results of the talks in the United States to Zelenskyy. “We have made significant progress in promoting a dignified peace and aligning our positions with the American side. Our key objectives—security, sovereignty, and a reliable peace—remain unchanged and are shared by the American side,” the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council said. “Continued consultations and work await us to agree on a joint framework decision,” he added. At a press conference in Paris, Zelensky contradicted the Russians, claiming that Kupiansk is under Ukrainian control.
On December 1, RBC-Ukraine learned that Kiev rejected the clause in Trump’s peace plan: “renouncing NATO membership. This policy is enshrined in the Constitution, and the amendment sets a negative precedent.” The United States is also calling for the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass, but Kiev is opposed, arguing that it “violates the Constitution, the will of the people, and the reality of the front.” Zelensky insists, however, that “the war must end as quickly as possible.”
Special Representative of the United States President Steve Witkoff held a second meeting on December 1 with the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, AFP reports.
On the Russian side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the issue of the peace agreement: “Russia is interested in the success of the Ukrainian agreement, but will not discuss the negotiations in the media.” The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Whitkoff will take place this afternoon.
And now a look at the frontline updated as of 3:30 PM on December 1. In the Leningrad Region, several drones were destroyed in the early hours of the morning over the Kirishi District. In Sevastopol, one person was injured in an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Friday. The use of Neptune anti-ship missiles was reported. In the Seversky District of the Krasnodar Krai, debris from a drone damaged three private homes. Yesterday morning, damage to civilian homes was reported in Slavyansk-on-Kuban and Anapa. A gas pipeline was also damaged at the Slavyansk oil refinery. Overnight in the Rostov Region, drones were destroyed in the Azovsky, Myasnikovsky, and Millerovsky Districts. No one was injured. A Ukrainian drone was shot down in the Smolensk region.
Russian forces struck the regions of Pavlohrad, Chernihiv, and Dnipropetrovsk overnight. Geran missiles have also traditionally been used in the Northern Group of Forces’ offensive zone to strike Ukrainian positions.
In the Sumy region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are increasing the number of drone crews in the Sumy region to delay the advance of the Russian Northern Group of Forces. Ukrainian assault groups were destroyed near Stepove and Kindrativka. In the Tetkino and Glushkovsky District sectors, Russian artillery and drones struck Ukrainian forces near Pavlivka.
In the Belgorod region, one person was injured in a FPV drone explosion. In Glotovo, a drone attacked a moving vehicle, injuring two people. Another civilian was injured on December 1. In Berezovka, a drone killed two men in a car. In the village of Moshchenoye, an FPV drone exploded on the grounds of a private residence, injuring a resident. Dorogoshch, Shakhovka, Shebekino, and Otradnoye are under attack.
In the Kharkiv sector, near Vovchansk and its surroundings, the Sever Group of Forces is using TOS to eliminate the remaining Ukrainian Armed Forces defenses, according to local sources. The Russian side is making progress in the southeastern part of the city and in a wooded area, as well as near Lyman and Vil’cha. In the Milove-Khatnje sector, near the village of Chernyakiv, the command post of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (GBSU) was destroyed. Positional battles and drone strikes are taking place in the Lyptsi sector.
In the direction of Kupyansk, both Russian and Ukrainian forces advanced east of the Oskil River. In the northeast, Russian forces resumed assault operations south of the Petropavlivka Reservoir, advancing west and capturing new positions in a forest and nearby wooded areas. From there, they pushed south across the highway and further west into additional wooded positions, outflanking Ukrainian forces at Pishchane and reaching the northeastern outskirts of Kurylivka.
In the southwest, Ukrainian forces recently advanced from the central part of Hlushkivka, recapturing the southern part of the village on both banks of the Syno-Bratova River.
+ ~6.19 km² in favor of Russia.
+ ~1.74 km² in favor of Ukraine.
Northwest of Lyman, the Russian Group of Forces West is cutting the railway lines leading to the city of Yarova, reaching the banks of the Seversky Donets River. In Lyman, Ukrainian forces launched an unsuccessful counterattack northeast of the city.
In the direction of Pokrovsky, Ukrainian forces claim that Russian forces have entered and are controlling the industrial zone on the northwestern outskirts of the city.
Group of Forces West are continuing their offensive in the eastern parts of the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions. Fighting is taking place on a broad front: near Hai, in the direction of Dobropillya, and in the direction of Varvarivka. There are reports of Russian forces advancing near Hulyaijpole.
On the Zaporizhia front, Russian drones are already operating beyond Prymorsky, near Malokaterynivka.
In Kherson, artillery from the 18th Guards Joint Army “Dnipro” launched a massive missile strike, targeting concentrations of Ukrainian personnel and active electronic warfare and airspace monitoring systems.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
