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December 14, 2023

Russia and Ukraine Trade Drone Attacks as Hungary's Orbán Threatens to Block EU Aid to Ukraine
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Russia launched a barrage of drone attacks on southern Ukraine
overnight, wounding at least 11 people, including three children, and
damaging port infrastructure in the Odesa region, as well as the Danube
River, close to the Romanian border. The attacks came as Russia's
military said Russian air defenses shot down nine Ukrainian drones
headed toward Moscow, just hours ahead of the start of a year-end news
conference held by President Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, Hungary's far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has arrived
at a European Union summit in Brussels, where he has promised to block
Ukraine's bid to join the EU, as well as a deal to send an additional
$54 billion worth of aid to Ukraine. This comes after the European
Commission tried to soften Orbán's opposition by offering to release
more than $11 billion in funding to Hungary it had previously withheld
after determining Orbán's government failed to uphold the rule of law.


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