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Ukraine War: Fighting Set to Slow for Winter Months, Says US Intelligence

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The fighting in Ukraine has been slowing down and this will likely continue in the coming winter months, US intelligence agencies believe.

However, there has been no evidence of fading resistance on the part of Ukrainian forces, US director of intelligence Avril Haines said.

She said both sides would try to “refit, resupply and reconstitute” for any counter-offensive in the spring.

It follows Russian attacks on Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure.

The war in Ukraine is now in its ninth month but Russia has lost more than half the land it seized.

Ms Haines told a defence forum in California that most of the fighting is currently around the Bakhmut and Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

She said fighting had slowed down following Russia’s withdrawal of troops from the west of the Kherson region last month.

“We’re seeing a kind of a reduced tempo already of the conflict… and we expect that’s likely to be what we see in the coming months,” she said.

She said both Ukraine and Russian militaries would be looking to prepare for any counter-offensive after the winter.

“But we actually have a fair amount of scepticism as to whether or not the Russians will be, in fact, prepared to do that,” she said.

“I think more optimistically for the Ukrainians in that time frame.”

Ms Haines said US intelligence believes Russian President Vladimir Putin does not have a full picture at this stage of just how challenged his military are.

“We see shortages of ammunition, for morale, supply issues, logistics, a whole series of concerns that they’re facing.”

However, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) painted a different picture in a daily review, questioning whether the freezing conditions could permit “a higher pace of operations as winter sets in”.

The institute cited comments by Serhiy Haidai, Ukraine’s regional governor in Luhansk, who observed that the weather in the eastern Donbas region was changing as winter conditions set in.

Previously, the ISW had asserted that operations in the Donbas were unlikely to slow down as freezing conditions created “the most optimal times of year for mechanised manoeuvre warfare”.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky described a price cap set by his Western allies on Russian oil exports as “weak” and said it was not “serious” enough to damage the Russian economy.

The cap, due to come into force on today is aimed at stopping countries paying more than $60 (£48) for a barrel of seaborne Russian crude oil.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow had prepared for the move but would not sell its oil under the cap.

At a virtual meeting on Sunday, a group of the world’s top oil-producing countries is expected to stick to its oil output targets.

At their last ministerial session in October, the Opec+ group – made up of countries including Russia and the United Arab Emirates – agreed to reduce output by two million barrels per day from November in a bid to help boost oil prices.

The move angered the United States and other Western nations with Washington accusing the group of siding with Russia.

Since October, oil prices have declined due to slower global growth and higher interest rates. Opec sources say the group is likely to approve a policy rollover.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s security service said the government in Kyiv is imposing sanctions against 10 senior Orthodox Church figures it accuses of having supported Russia’s invasion.

The sanctions, which will freeze their assets for five years, are the latest moves by the Ukrainian government against religious groups seen as potentially subversive.

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Israel Vows to Build Jewish Settlements, Rejects Macron’s Call for Palestinian State

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“Do not threaten Israel with sanctions” as it will continue to build a “Jewish state” on the ground,” Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, warned on Friday.He also rebuffed a call by French President Emmanuel Macron for establishing a Palestinian State.In open defiance of international law, Katz claimed that world powers may recognize a Palestinian state “on paper.

”Katz made the remarks during a visit to Sa-Nur, an illegal outpost in the northern West Bank that the Tel Aviv government recently decided to officially designate as a settlement for illegal Israeli settlers.
In a direct message, Defense Minister Israel Katz targets French President Macron and European allies.He also dismissed the potential international consequences.
He said: “They will recognise a Palestinian state on paper, while we will build the Jewish Israeli state on the ground.“Don’t threaten us with sanctions. You will not make us bow.“The State of Israel will not kneel before threats.”His comments came hours after President Macron stated that recognising the State of Palestine was a “moral duty”.Macron also reiterated that France may move toward official recognition during an upcoming international conference focused on the two-state solution.Earlier this week, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli Security Cabinet had secretly approved the establishment of 22 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.In response, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now issued a statement Thursday, revealing that 12 of the newly approved settlements were previously unauthorised outposts and farming sites established in recent years.According to Peace Now, there are currently 156 illegal settlements and 224 outposts across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with over 736,000 illegal Israeli settlers living on occupied Palestinian land.The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law.The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.(AA/NAN)

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Comedian Russell Brand Pleads not Guilty to Rape, Sexual Assault

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British comedian and actor Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault.

The 49-year-old appeared in the dock at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Friday flanked by two officers, where he stood stock-still and looked straight ahead as he delivered his pleas.

He is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room while she attended a Labour Party conference in Bournemouth, and grabbing a TV worker’s breasts and orally raping her after dragging her into a male toilet.

Brand is also alleged to have grabbed a radio station worker’s face, pushing her against a wall and kissing her before groping her breasts and buttocks.

The final charge alleges the actor indecently assaulted another woman after grabbing her forearm and attempting to drag her into a male toilet.

The allegations against Brand are said to have taken place against four women between 1999 and 2005.

The defendant, of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, who faces one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault, is due to stand trial on June 3 next year at the same court.

As Friday’s hearing finished, the comedian replaced his sunglasses before exiting the dock and calmly walked past reporters.

He was charged following an investigation by Channel 4 and the Sunday Times newspaper in which several women made allegations against him.

Brand previously told his 11.2 million followers on X that he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.(dpa/NAN)

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Man Sentenced for Blackmailing German Priest With Nude Photos

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 A 50-year-old man was on Friday given a 20-month suspended sentence for blackmailing a German priest with nude photos.

During the trial at Augsburg District Court in the southern state of Bavaria, the defendant, who had no previous convictions, admitted to all charges.

According to the indictment, he sent nude photos downloaded from an internet platform hosting homosexual content, as well as a photo showing the priest, to the theologian at the end of 2022.

He threatened to give the photos to television stations and publish them in the priest’s parish, and demanded the priest send him 50,000 euros (56,600 U.S. dollars).

Later, the defendant also sent an email with the nude photos to the priest’s parish office.

The priest did not respond to either attempt or contact but reported the matter to the police.

The defendant was charged with attempted extortion and sentenced to one year and eight months in prison.

The sentence was suspended on probation.

The man must also pay 800 euros.

The verdict is not yet final. (dpa/NAN)

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