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SWIFT, price restrictions or a ban on gas exports, a ban on the entry of European ships into Russian ports and the issuance of visas to Russians. In addition, sanctions against the banking system should also be extended to Belarus, said Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva. The deputy notes that personal sanctions against Belarusian officials have already been introduced, but their expansion is necessary.
NATO has started working on Ukraine’s application to join the alliance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday that Ukraine was applying under an accelerated procedure to become a member of the security alliance. According to the alliance’s policy, all 30 NATO allies must agree on the decision regarding Ukraine’s application for accelerated NATO membership, said NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. In the last two days, it has become known that nine presidents from NATO countries support Ukraine's membership and have called for increased military assistance. Furthermore, nine presidents from nine NATO countries in Central and Eastern Europe issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories and calling on NATO to significantly increase military assistance to Ukraine.
Ukraine's NATO bid surprises Biden administration. Ukraine's application for NATO accession came as a surprise to President Joe Biden's administration, Politico reported, citing two unnamed U.S. officials. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when talking to Politico, declined to explicitly endorse the bid, but said she supports a "security guarantee" for Kyiv. "We are very committed to democracy in Ukraine," Pelosi said.
Zelensky cancels autumn conscription, postpones demobilisation. President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled the draft to regular military service in Ukraine this autumn and postponed the demobilisation scheduled for October-December, according to a decree published on Sept. 30.
The Ministry of Defence has signed contracts worth UAH 46B with Ukrainian companies. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has signed 428 contracts to purchase food, fuel, lubricants, and other supplies with Ukrainian suppliers and manufacturers for a total of UAH 46B. Specifically, the Ministry of Defence concluded 67 contracts worth UAH 6B for the supply of fuel and lubricants, 326 contracts for UAH 22.6B for the supply of material support, and 35 contracts for UAH 17.5B for food. As an official explained, this year, the ministry has significantly expanded the range of suppliers due to the liquidation of monopolies previously held by some companies. According to Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, the goal is to increase the share of Ukrainian suppliers and manufacturers, which currently amounts to 35% compared to 65% foreign sources.
US believes Ukraine was behind killing of daughter of Russian ultra-nationalist. According to the New York Times, the U.S. intelligence agencies believe that “parts of the Ukrainian government authorized the car bomb attack” that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of Russian imperialist Alexander Dugin on Aug. 20. Ukraine had earlier denied involvement.
Likelihood of new attack from Belarus low but could rise in spring. Russia is highly unlikely to be able to gather enough forces in Belarus for a renewed attack on Ukraine from Belarus territory, according to Yevhenii Sylkin, strategic
16 UKRAINE Country Report November 2022 www.intellinews.com