Thursday, November 7

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Consequences of a drone attack on Kyiv in the Pechersk district of the city, November 7, 2024. (Telegram/DSNS of Kyiv)

Zelensky congratulates Trump on US election victory. "I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine," Zelensky wrote.

Biden administration rushing to deliver $6 billion in remaining aid to Ukraine ahead of Trump's inauguration, Politico reports. Two administration officials told Politico that the White House plans to expedite the weapons delivery amid concerns that a future Trump administration would halt weapons shipments before they reach Kyiv.

Russian drone attack on Kyiv damages buildings, causes fires in five districts. Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv overnight on Nov. 6, striking a residential building as well as an auto repair shop in the capital, the Kyiv City Military Administration reported.

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Ukraine's gas production highest since full-scale invasion's start. According to EXPRO’s calculations, gross natural gas production rose by 2.3% in October 2024 compared to the same month last year, reaching 1.663 billion cubic meters, the highest level since January 2022.

Zelensky to visit Hungary for European Political Community Summit. "We will discuss security challenges in Europe, as well as new opportunities for all partners," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Russia's Dagestan claims to intercept drone, airport halts flights. The downing of a drone in Dagestan comes shortly after an unprecedented drone strike against a Russian military academy in neighboring Chechnya on Oct. 29.

The Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) — one of the largest international forums in Eastern Europe — will take place on Nov. 7, with the Kyiv Independent as a media partner.

KIEF brings together representatives of business, government, and society to promote Ukraine's integration into the global community.

Register here: **forumkyiv.org/en/**

Read our exclusives

With Trump back in White House, can Ukraine opt for nuclear deterrence?

With the looming risk that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may pull the plug on Washington's support for Ukraine, Kyiv has flirted with the option of nuclear deterrence.

Photo: Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

What we know about Trump's plans for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine

Trump has repeatedly said he could end Russia's war "in 24 hours." What is his plan?

Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

This is what Ukrainians in Kyiv think about Trump’s election victory

As Donald Trump triumphs in the U.S. presidential election, Ukrainians brace themselves for what it means for their nation.

Photo: The Kyiv Independent

Ukraine state-owned enterprises weekly — Special issue on state-owned railway company Ukrzaliznytsia

In this special issue, Oleksandr Lysenko and Andriy Boytsun highlight several events illustrating failures in the corporate governance of Ukrzaliznytsia.

Photo: Stanislav Ivanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Trump wins US 2024 presidential election – what this means for Ukraine.

Republican candidate Donald Trump claims victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, foreign leaders issue messages, congratulating the former president on returning the White House.

The Republican Party will also take control of the U.S. Senate. The House election results are still being counted. This will impact how — if at all — any future aid arrives in Kyiv from Washington.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attacks against Ukraine injure 37, kill 9 over past day. Russia launched 63 Shaheds and other drones overnight, as well as two Kh-59 and Kh-31P guided missiles. Ukrainian air defenses shot 38 drones over nine regions while 22 were "lost," the Air Force said.‌‌

Russia has executed at least 124 Ukrainian POWs on battlefield, Prosecutor General's Office says. Denys Lysenko, head of the department focused on war-related crimes, said that 49 criminal investigations were underway regarding the execution of Ukrainian POWs.

Opinions and insights

Opinion: Biden's foreign policy missteps weakened the West and undermined Harris' path to the presidency.

History will likely judge U.S. President Joe Biden poorly. He set himself a singular mission: to save democracy. But the risk is that his own ego may have jeopardized that very cause — not only in the U.S. but across the West, writes Timothy Ash, Associate Fellow at Chatham House.

Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

International response

Orban congratulates Trump on victory, calls it biggest comeback in US political history. "The biggest comeback in U.S. political history! Congratulations to President Donald Trump on his enormous win. A much needed victory for the World!" Viktor Orban posted.

Georgian PM hopes for 'restart' of ties with US after Trump's reelection. "I am confident that President Trump’s leadership will promote peace globally and in our region as well as ensure restart in U.S.-Georgia relations," Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on X.

Russia-Ukraine war can't be stopped overnight**, Kremlin reacts to Trump.** "We have repeatedly said that the United States of America can help end the conflict in Ukraine. This, of course, cannot be done overnight," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Europe must take responsibility for its security, Polish FM says after Trump's win. "The winds of history are blowing ever more strongly. Poland's leadership will rise to the occasion," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said, urging European countries to boost defense spending.

Updated: Russian officials cautiously cheer on Trump's victory. "Trump has one quality that is useful to us: as a businessman to the core, he hates spending money on freeloaders, on idiotic allies, charity projects, and greedy international organizations," former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.

Russian war in 'stalemate,' needs to be brought to end, Republican senator says. "That doesn't mean we celebrate what Vladimir Putin did or are excited about it, but I think there has to be some common sense here. We are funding a stalemate that's costing lives... and Ukraine is going to take 100 years to rebuild with everything they're facing," Rubio said.

Ukraine, US have 'potential for stronger cooperation,' Zelensky says following Trump victory. "On defense, on the economy, and on the future after the war – we have the potential for stronger cooperation," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "This is what will make Ukraine, America, and the entire free world more successful."

Zelensky holds call with Trump to congratulate him on election victory. President Volodymyr Zelensky held a phone call with President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 6 to congratulate him on his presidential election victory, Zelensky said on social media.

U.S. presidential election

Trump wins battleground state Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state with a large Ukrainian population, has played a key role in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The candidates have campaigned aggressively in the state, with both Trump and Harris holding dueling rallies there the night before election day.

Trump wins Wisconsin, cementing his election victory. Donald Trump is projected to win the swing state of Wisconsin, putting him safely across the benchmark needed for victory with 277 electoral votes.

‘I’m going to stop the wars’ – Trump says**, as he claims victory.** "They said ‘he will start a war.’ I’m not going to start a war, I’m going to stop the wars," said Donald Trump during a speech in which he claimed victory in the 2024 presidential elections.

‘It will not be like before’: Ukrainian politicians respond to Trump’s win with caution, uncertainty. With Republican candidate Donald Trump set to become the next U.S. president, Ukrainian politicians have reacted carefully – congratulating the former-turned-future president and emphasizing the need for diplomacy and cooperation, while also expressing uncertainty about what his victory means for Ukraine.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Boldizsár Győri, Chris York, Kateryna Hodunova, and Dmytro Basmat.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program_**. Start supporting independent journalism today.**_

New #Biden Administration Rules Aim to Hold Insurers Accountable for #MentalHealth Care Coverage
==

The regulations will force health insurance plans to collect and report more data on how they limit and deny mental health claims. ProPublica’s reporting has found that insurers regularly shortchange patients seeking treatment.

#News #Health #Insurance #Regulation #Government #Therapy

propublica.org/article/biden-a…

For the next 24 hours, all proceeds from our apps @mastowatch and #Audracity will go to the #Kamala campaign!

#usPol #usa #harris #biden #Election2024

Audracity: apple.co/47HmGeg
Mastowatch: apple.co/3VUPytt

‎Mastowatch

‎Hi! I’m Mastowatch and I can help you find and inspect Mastodon servers. Whether you're new to Mastodon and just need help finding the perfect instance or you want to look up details and statistics about your favorites, Mastowatch can help you find …

^{App Store}

"Nothing says women refuse to accept second-class citizenship like electing one. I have no doubt she can do it, and I look forward to watching the support she receives from Hillary Clinton, her sorors, and pretty much everyone in America who loves democracy. We have work to do!"

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/14

"And as one of my friends pointed out, this means that so many of Trump’s 'arguments' are gone in one fell swoop: President Biden’s age, Hunter Biden, the whole 'Biden crime family' corruption allegations. All out the door.

This is the poetic justice the country has been looking for and richly deserves: A highly qualified, talented Black woman, a former prosecutor, will be the one to take down Donald Trump."

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/13

"The endorsements have continued to roll in since Biden led the way, with President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and Representative James Clyburn, the South Carolina Democrat who launched Joe Biden’s successful run in 2020, following suit."

~ Joyce Vance

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/12

joycevance.substack.com/p/the-…

The Week Ahead

July 20, 2024

^{Joyce Vance (Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance)}

"For three and a half years, she has been the person the national-security apparatus would turn to if anything happened to the president. She’s become stronger and stronger as a public figure. The party doesn’t have the luxury of wasting time figuring out who else can gain support. For the party it’s time to mobilize behind her…."

~ James Fallows

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/11

fallows.substack.com/p/electio…

Election Countdown, 107 Days to Go: Joe Biden Passes the Torch

A sitting president changes everything about the race. We'll remember where we were, when we heard this news.

^{James Fallows (Breaking the News)}

"I urge all of you to take the president’s lead and stand with Kamala Harris in the battle against Trump. President Biden has sacrificed for his country and we should honor his decision by looking forward to the race ahead and working for the Democrats’ success."

~ Steven Beschloss

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/10

americaamerica.news/p/for-the-…

For the Good of the Country

President Joe Biden makes the difficult decision to withdraw from the race

^{Steven Beschloss (America, America)}

"Biden’s decision has given the Democratic Party a window of narrative dominance. It’s the biggest story in politics, and most Americans will come to understand its significance on Democratic terms—that Biden did something fundamentally patriotic, when he realized his campaign, under his direction as an 81 year old man, had created an intolerable risk of allowing Donald Trump to become president again."

~ Brian Beutler

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/9

offmessage.net/p/joe-biden-has…

Joe Biden Has Given America A Fighting Chance

That fight, against spooked and dissembling Republicans, needs to begin now

^{Brian Beutler (Off Message)}

"Speaking of Black women, Kamala Harris should be fully unleashed now as President Biden finishes his term. She is the best one to prosecute the case against Trump and MAGA’s extremist Project 2025 agenda. Biden can govern but he can’t articulate the case in public as well as Harris, so let her do it, especially when it comes to GOP’s kryptonite: abortion and women’s rights. Trump and the GOP can’t run away from their misogyny and cruelty."

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats #BlackVoters #women
/8

"Democrats should lean on and reward Black leaders who have been the most loyal and staunch supporters of the Biden-Harris ticket. The Congressional Black Caucus, minus one individual, stayed united and steadfast in promoting the Biden-Harris ticket, and now they’re fully behind Harris. Black voters, especially Black women, are the strongest base of the Democratic Party."

~ Wajahat Ali

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats #BlackVoters
/7

thelefthook.substack.com/p/bid…

Biden, Harris, and the Test for American Democracy: Will We Rise to Meet the Opportunity?

Will America embrace the best version of itself and move beyond racism and misogyny? Or will this country succumb to white supremacy and self-destruction? Let's unite and fight for democracy.

^{THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali (The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali)}

"Even if she takes the nomination by acclamation, we will know much more about the prospects of an institutional defense against Trump by whether the media that once pushed Biden from the race now finds reason to dislike Harris, or to suggest she is an unworthy of a position she has spent the last four years preparing for."

~ Don Moynihan

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats #media
/6

donmoynihan.substack.com/p/bid…

Biden Out: Why It Should Be Harris

Five quick takes

^{Don Moynihan (Can We Still Govern?)}

"I will put on my boots and go to work day one. I will knock doors in rural spaces for a woman running to extend democracy for at least four more years. A qualified and vetted woman who will keep us on track.

We have to beat Trump, but after that, we need a reckoning in the party."

~ Jess Piper

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/5

jesspiper.substack.com/p/pov-a…

POV: A Rural Democrat on Biden's Announcement

I wrote a long piece on gardening and religion this morning and published it right before Joe’s news…bad timing. I won’t keep you long here except to say, as a rural Democratic activist, I’m pissed, but I’m in it to win it.

^{Jess Piper (The View from Rural Missouri by Jess Piper)}

"It’s too much time to waste, when the party needs to unify now and get on with the urgent business of running Donald Trump and his gaggle of discontents and fellow criminals into the river.

Joe Biden has taken the step so many have urged on him. We should thank him and unite, move forward, fight as a team and beat Trump."

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/4

"Biden’s announcement turns a time of discord and distress for the Democratic Party into a time of opportunity and purpose. Democrats should seize the moment and rally behind the Vice President as our nominee and not wait until the formal nomination at the convention almost a month away."

~ Lucian K. Truscott

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/3

luciantruscott.substack.com/p/…

It's up to us now

President Joe Biden today announced that he intends to “stand down” as the Democratic Party candidate for president.

^{Lucian K. Truscott IV (Lucian Truscott Newsletter)}

"And a voter for an aspiring dictator backed by the world’s greediest fascists and oligarchs and enabled by a stolen and broken Republican Supreme Court is a vote for your vote never to matter again."

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/2

"I’ve always been more 'Let’s just kick the fascists' asses' than 'Blue no matter who.'

But I will obviously support anyone Democrats nominate over Donald Trump. That’s the easiest choice of my life that doesn’t involve waffle fries.

When it all comes down to it, I’m a single-issue voter. My issue is that I’d like to keep voting."

~ Jason Sattler

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/1

thecause.substack.com/p/biden-…

Biden is out. Freedom must win.

A few thoughts on defeating the most obvious threat to democracy in American history.

^{L O L G O P (The Cause)}

"Donald Trump and Chris LaCivita are about to hit Kamala Harris with an avalanche of racist and sexist attacks and a ton of slut-shaming. Democrats across the board need to be saying now what we all know, which is that this will bring out the very worst of Trump. Racism and sexism are his brand. Charlottesville is his brand."

~ Josh Marshall

#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
/15

talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a…

A Small Matter of the Politics

This isn’t what I want to be discussing right now. But it’s...

^TPM

Do Democrats have enough time to find a different path to victory?

It's actually not an unusual concept.

Until 1968, presidential candidates were always picked by party conventions.

And that process, though providing less public input, also produced some great nominees.

theconversation.com/until-1968…

#Biden #Election2024 #USPolitics #Histodons @histodons

Look, I've had numerous (well documented) complaints about the Biden administration and the fact that I don't think its liberal, incrementalist policies go nearly far enough in the face of a fascist project to control every aspect of our society, backed by corporate power. With that having been said however, I dunno how *anyone* can still be arguing that there are political, institutionalist answers to the fascist takeover we're experiencing in America when even straightforward incrementalist policies by an elected Democrat President are being struck down or otherwise blocked by Calvin Ball rulings from federal courts stacked full of fascists:

truthout.org/articles/appeals-…

Appeals Court Blocks Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit’s temporary ruling against the administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan comes just over a year after the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s sweeping student debt cancellation proposal."

This case isn't even about using political power to stop fascism, it's a clear cut situation of providing debt relief for folks being ground up by the student loan industry. If fascist judges are prepared to interfere with regular policy issues and block milquetoast presidential initiatives, you can sure as shit bet they're going to do the same thing about any political efforts to stop the fascist takeover of our society. Whether you're for taking to the streets, or you believe in stopping fascism at the ballot box, it's 100% clear to me that we're not going anywhere good as a country so long as these corrupt, be-robed nazis are running Bartertown.

There's more than one way to reform the American federal court system, and I don't have all the answers for you. It's entirely possible the Biden administration can keep working around these rulings for a little while to continue offering student loan debt relief to millions of Americans victimized by the student loan industry. What I do know however is that sooner or later the political issues raised by the fascist takeover of our courts will come to a head, and by hook, or by crook, we need to find a way to shatter the power of corrupt judges who're now running the country for their reactionary corporate donors; rich donors and corpos who clearly support the larger fascist project, might I add. Ignoring this reality is a nonstarter - both politically, and in our greater society.

#StudentLoans #USPolitics #CourtReform #Biden

Appeals Court Blocks Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan

More than half of the more than 8 million borrowers who have enrolled in the program have a $0 monthly payment.

^{Jessica Corbett (Truthout)}

“The White House press corps would be in wolf pack mode if Biden were in the middle of a speech and suddenly veered into gibberish about boats and sharks. There would be front-page stories questioning whether the president, at 81, was suffering from dementia; and the op-ed pages would be filled with thumb-suckers about whether Vice President Harris and the Cabinet should invoke the 25th Amendment."

~ Eugene Robinson

#Trump #dementia #Biden #media #MediaFail
/1

washingtonpost.com/opinions/20…

IRS Direct File is a major win for the #Biden administration that doesn’t get a lot of attention.

Giving taxpayers an option to remove themselves from the marketplace of scammy for-profit preparation services is a major victory for all parties.

Other than the scammy for-profit preparation services, I guess.

forbes.com/sites/andrewleahey/…

IRS Direct File Expands To All 50 States For 2025

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced the pilot Direct File program will be a permanent free filing option for all 50 states, starting in filing season 2025.

^{Andrew Leahey (Forbes)}

#Trump losing 17% of the vote in a closed swing-state primary to a candidate who dropped out months ago should lead to a lotta commentary about his weakness. It won’t, because the press is obsessed with Trumpers sticking with Trump regardless, but it should.

Imagine how they’d cover Dean Phillips pulling those numbers against #Biden.

#Election2024

nytimes.com/interactive/2024/0…

#Biden anuncia 8.200 millones de dólares en inversiones en #ferrocarril en #EEUU

Dos cosas:

(a) La LAV Madrid - Barcelona costó más que eso hace 15 años

(b) la fase uno de la Línea de la Segunda Avenida del Metro de Nueva York (2,9 kilómetros y tres estaciones) costó algo más de la mitad de esa suma

#noticias

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/s…

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Billions to Deliver World-Class High-Speed Rail and Launch New Passenger Rail Corridors Across the Country | The White House

$8.2 Billion from the President’s Investing in America Agenda to Deliver Transformative Passenger Rail in America President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda – a key pillar of Bidenomics – is delivering world class-infrastructure across the country…

^{The White House}