Weekly Exclusives
Weekly Exclusives - a newsletter that contains author publications, interviews, exclusive comments, photos and videos.
Photos of the week
The moon next to Venus (right) in the night sky over the capital, Kyiv, January 3, 2025.
Opinion
What Makes Culture Crucial for and Integral to Ukraine’s National Security
The Russian Empire has consistently expropriated our history, seeking to eradicate our culture, and with it our self-identity. In the third year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, awareness has clearly crystallized that culture is a fundamental element to our national security.
2025 will be the year of cultural conservation and resilience. It is crucial to make sure no crime against cultural heritage goes unpunished
Fact Checks
Russian propagandists amplify false claims about rising Ukrainian casualties during offensive in Kursk region
Russian propaganda fabricated a three-year-old video and distorted a news story about the planned construction of a crematorium in Lviv
Russian media outlets, pro-war Telegram channels, and bots on social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube are sharing a video purportedly showing a Ukrainian morgue. The footage, with blurred visuals, depicts numerous black bags allegedly containing the remains of Ukrainian soldiers killed in Russia's Kursk region. To lend credibility, propagandists overlaid the video with a Ukrainian-language song.
However, the video is a fabrication. Analysis reveals it was first uploaded online in December 2021 -- two months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The original video, shared on TikTok by an anonymous user, includes distinct details such as the U.S. flag and sounds of industrial machinery, indicating it was likely filmed at a facility in the United States.
In addition to spreading outright fakes, Russian propaganda manipulates facts to foster the impression within Ukrainian society of heightened losses in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. For instance, Russian news outlets have claimed that a crematorium is being built in Lviv because funeral services allegedly cannot keep up with traditional burials due to the large number of fallen soldiers.
This claim is manipulative. In Lviv, a symbolic capsule was placed on January 2 to mark the start of constructing a crematorium at the Holosko cemetery. However, according to the official website of the Lviv City Council, the decision to build this facility was made in 2021, with an architectural project already developed at that time.
These fabrications are surfacing amid Ukraine's intensified offensive operations in Russia's Kursk region. According to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, the narrative of heavy Ukrainian losses is a core tactic in Russia's information warfare. The goal is to intimidate Ukrainian citizens, disrupt mobilization efforts, and undermine morale.
Previously, Russian propaganda circulated false claims about U.S. journalists "gloating" over Ukrainian military losses.
Andriy Olenin
News:
War
Ukraine, partners to investigate use of Chinese antennas in Russian drones
"Informing partners [about Russia's use of Chinese antennas in Shahed-136 drones] is a crucial step," Chornohor said. "It is essential to identify the logistics chain through which these antennas reach Russia. The labeling, indicating use for agricultural equipment, suggests this is a dual-purpose or non-military product that Russia has adapted for its needs. Western countries have the opportunity to exert influence to either completely ban or at least partially limit the flow of such goods to Russia", - said Yaroslav Chornohor, director of the Russian and Belarusian Studies Program at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council.
Chornohor noted that Ukraine's limited access to Russian internal information makes it difficult to determine why these Chinese antennas are being used instead of Iranian or Russian ones. However, he suggested that sanctions might have made some components unavailable.
Politics
Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration should be simultaneous - German expert
Partners should assist Ukraine in meeting the criteria for EU membership and provide reliable security guarantees, enabling the country to join not only the European Union but also NATO, without waiting for the end of the war.
In the current situation, Wilfried Jilge, an expert on Ukraine at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) emphasized the importance of security guarantees, noting that the EU will not be able to accept a new member while the country is still at war. However, he argued that these guarantees should be structured in such a way that, even without NATO membership, American and European partners in NATO and the EU could offer substantial security support to Ukraine at the initial stage.
However, according to him, the concepts of reliable security guarantees have a real basis only on the condition of a sustainable ceasefire. However, at the moment the Kremlin does not show interest in a ceasefire, moreover - Putin has repeated his unacceptable conditions for Ukraine and has already rejected ideas from Trump's entourage about ending the war.
Economy
Chernivtsi earns more than UAH 2.6M through tourism tax over 11 months
“In January-November 2024, the community budget revenues from the tourism tax came to UAH 2.623 million, which is UAH 392 thousand higher compared to the same period of 2023,” told Director of the Department for Socio-Economic Development and Strategic Planning at Chernivtsi City Council Serhii Bostan.
In his opinion, the increased revenues resulted from a number of measures implemented to reveal the existing accommodation facilities and involve tax agents in tourism tax payments.
Following such efforts, the local budget received an additional UAH 122.5 thousand.
Over the past year, Chernivtsi has been promoting the region’s tourist attractiveness at large-scale exhibitions, including abroad.
“Our city was represented at the prestigious international travel trade show ITB Berlin, which was attended by more than 20,000 people within three days. It is one of the world’s largest and most powerful tourism exhibitions. Together with a delegation of the Ukrainian State Agency for Tourism Development, in cooperation with colleagues from Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, we presented a consolidated stand of our state,” Bostan added.
Government approves draft bill on main principles of housing policy
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a draft bill that introduces a new system of providing Ukrainians with housing through the mechanisms of social and corporate housing, affordable mortgage lending, and creating special housing funds.
According to Regional Consultant of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Serhii Komnatnyi, the above document will replace the obsolete Housing Code of 1984 and the 1992 Law on the Privatization of State Housing Fund, as the commitment of the state to provide free housing to all citizens is socially and economically unjustified.
The draft bill introduces four main instruments to provide citizens with housing, such as social housing for internally displaced persons (IDPs) exceeding more than 4.6 million and public sector employees on reduced rental terms; corporate housing for employees who need to live near their workplace; affordable mortgage lending for economically active citizens; and creating housing funds with the involvement of public and private capital.
The document lays the legislative framework for housing stock modernization by establishing the minimum requirements for housing quality, introducing modernization programs for old buildings, and launching pilot renovation projects.
Additionally, the draft bill provides for the housing sector to be digitalized by creating a unified information and analytical system and an electronic register of applications and funds of affordable housing.
Society
SBI investigating reports of violations in Anna of Kyiv Brigade
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is looking into reports published in the media regarding violations in the 155th Mechanized Brigade named after Anna of Kyiv.
"The SBI is indeed studying the facts presented in the media in the framework of criminal proceedings initiated under Articles 426-1 (abuse of power or official authority by a military officer) and Article 408 (desertion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The investigation is ongoing. It's too early to talk about any preliminary results," said Tetiana Sapyan, Communications Adviser to the Director of the SBI..
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