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Tracking information about the Russian War against Ukraine

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Spies, Lies, and Algorithms

Amy B. Zegart

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    Ukraine

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    I build robots to save lives: Here’s why Europe must invest in Ukraine’s civil security

    I build robots to save lives: Here’s why Europe must invest in Ukraine’s civil security

    About the author: Cyril Kabbara is the founder and CEO of Shark Robotics.

    This week, my company, Shark Robotics, a French high-tech scale-up and a world leader in civil protection robotics, delivered 40 Colossus robots to Ukraine’s State Emergency …

    Ukraine

    Russia

    Orban says he wrote to Putin, fearing Russia’s response to EU plan to use frozen assets for Ukraine

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has acknowledged that he personally reached out to Vladimir Putin for clarification, saying he was concerned about Moscow’s reaction to European Union actions.

    Orban said he sent a letter to Putin asking how …

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    Russia

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    EU imposes new sanctions on Russia's 'shadow fleet'

    EU imposes new sanctions on Russia's 'shadow fleet'

    The new sanctions bring the total of sanctioned "shadow fleet" ships to 600, according to the Council of the EU.

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    Ukraine

    Russia

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    Ukrainian forces counterattack near Lyman, claim Russian regiment destroyed

    Ukrainian forces counterattack near Lyman, claim Russian regiment destroyed

    Ukrainian forces counterattacked near Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, the Third Army Corps said, claiming an entire Russian regiment was destroyed and prisoners were taken.

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    Russia

    Sweden’s navy says armed guards are appearing on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ vessels

    Uniformed service members and armed men - believed to be private security contractors — have been spotted on tankers carrying oil from Russia, Marko Petkovic, the head of operations for the Swedish Navy, said on the Swedish broadcaster SVT Nyheter. …

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    Ukraine

    Russia

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    SBU says drones hit Russian equipment worth hundreds of millions at Belbek airfield in occupied Crimea

    SBU says drones hit Russian equipment worth hundreds of millions at Belbek airfield in occupied Crimea

    Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has struck a Russian military airfield in occupied Crimea, reportedly destroying air defense equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the agency said in a Telegram post on Dec. 18.

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    Ukraine

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    Ukrainian delegation to visit US for peace talks on Dec. 19-20, Zelensky says

    Ukrainian delegation to visit US for peace talks on Dec. 19-20, Zelensky says

    The discussions will concern the 20-point peace plan, security guarantees, reconstruction, and all relevant steps and documents, Zelensky told journalists.

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    Seventeen young male migrants from Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia were detained after illegally crossing the Poland-Lithuania border, carrying passes from a Latvian foreigner center.

    On December 18, 2025, at approximately 10:25 UTC, Polish Border Guard units stationed at Sejny interdicted 17 young male migrants after they illegally crossed the border between Poland and Lithuania. The migrants originate from Eritrea, Sudan, …

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    Ukraine

    Russia

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    Zelensky arrives in Brussels to attend crucial EU summit

    Zelensky arrives in Brussels to attend crucial EU summit

    European leaders are expected to decide on Dec. 18–19 whether to proceed with a "reparations loan," a plan to lend up to 210 billion euros in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.

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    First European guided missile designed for mass production innovated in Latvia successfully tested

    On December 18, 2025, Andris Spruds announced that Latvia has achieved a European defense breakthrough with the first guided missile designed for mass production, innovated by Frankenburg Technologies. This missile, built from commercial …

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    Russia

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    Russian border guards briefly crossed into Estonia, Tallinn says

    Russian border guards briefly crossed into Estonia, Tallinn says

    Igor Taro, the interior minister of the Baltic nation, said it remains unclear whether the incident was intentional but emphasized that there is no threat to Estonia's security.

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    Ukraine

    Russia

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    Ukrainian drones reportedly strike oil tanker in Russia's Rostov-on-Don, local officials claim

    Ukrainian drones reportedly strike oil tanker in Russia's Rostov-on-Don, local officials claim

    Ukrainian drones reportedly struck an oil tanker in the Port of Rostov overnight on Dec. 18, local officials in Russia's Rostov Oblast reported.

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    Ukraine

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    Drone production, air defense sustainment — Germany backs Ukraine with $1.4 billion in defense agreements

    Drone production, air defense sustainment — Germany backs Ukraine with $1.4 billion in defense agreements

    Kyiv has signed several new defense agreements with Berlin totaling 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Dec. 17, a day after the Ramstein-format meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG).

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    Ukraine

    Russia

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    Fact Check: Image Does NOT Prove Zelenskyy Received Israeli Passport In 2016

    Does a viral picture of what looks like an Israeli passport confirm that Volodymyr Zelenskyy became an Israeli citizen before he became president of Ukraine? No, that's not true: The image got the spelling of his last name wrong. The machine-readable …

    Ukraine

    Russia

    Six windows on Ukraine: Belonging.

    ”The key to solving the world’s urgent problems may lie within Ukraine — from disinformation to modern warfare. We’ve lived these crises and learned how to resist them.”

    For our fifth season, Ukrainian Spaces returns to where it began: revisiting six …

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    Ukraine

    Russia

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    US, Russia set to hold talks in Miami this weekend, Politico reports

    US, Russia set to hold talks in Miami this weekend, Politico reports

    U.S. and Russian officials are set to meet in Miami this weekend to discuss efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, Politico reported on Dec. 17, citing two unnamed sources.

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    Ukraine

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    US Senate passes defense spending bill allocating $400 million annually in military aid to Ukraine through 2027

    US Senate passes defense spending bill allocating $400 million annually in military aid to Ukraine through 2027

    The U.S. Senate on Dec. 17 approved a $900 billion defense spending bill that includes $800 million in military assistance for Ukraine, following the House of Representatives’ passage of the legislation last week.

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    Ukraine

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    Platinum Security: a new Budapest Memorandum or real protection for Ukraine? #shorts

    Platinum Security: a new Budapest Memorandum or real protection for Ukraine? #shorts

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    Lukashenko trades prisoners for sanctions relief — and keeps the upper hand

    Lukashenko trades prisoners for sanctions relief — and keeps the upper hand

    As dust settles from a historic deal that saw Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko free 123 political prisoners in exchange for a partial U.S. sanctions relief, the main question remains unanswered — what now?

    Trump’s newly appointed special …

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    Russia

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    Putin hides the truth: 30,000 killed monthly, no gains in Donbas

    Putin hides the truth: 30,000 killed monthly, no gains in Donbas

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    Ukraine

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    🔥Success in the Pokrovsk direction: Ukrainian defenders are not retreating #shorts

    🔥Success in the Pokrovsk direction: Ukrainian defenders are not retreating #shorts

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    Russia

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    No Christmas truce?! Putin has chosen war

    No Christmas truce?! Putin has chosen war

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    Russia

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    🚫Fake threats from the North: The Kremlin creates a new conflict #shorts

    🚫Fake threats from the North: The Kremlin creates a new conflict #shorts

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    Russia

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    1,700 losses per day! Russian infantry is being wiped out by drones, especially near Pokrovsk

    1,700 losses per day! Russian infantry is being wiped out by drones, especially near Pokrovsk

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    Ukraine

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    UK tells Abramovich to give Chelsea money to Ukrainian cause or face legal action

    UK tells Abramovich to give Chelsea money to Ukrainian cause or face legal action

    "The clock is ticking on Roman Abramovich to honor the commitment he made when Chelsea FC was sold and transfer the 2.5 billion pounds to a humanitarian cause for Ukraine," Starmer said on Dec. 17.

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