📉Nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s soldiers are AWOL amid collapse in morale

Almost a fifth of Ukraine’s soldiers have gone AWOL from their positions, The Economist cited a source in the general staff as saying.

An overwhelming collapse in morale on the front line amid Russia’s steady advance is driving mass desertion, a senior Ukrainian military commander has claimed.

Despite more Western weapons in the pipeline for Ukraine, these is a “breakdown of trust between society, the army and the political leadership” in Kiev, according to the outlet. It added that Ukraine has been struggling to replace vast battlefield losses with connoscription, “barely hitting two-thirds of its target.”

Rampant draft dodging and desertion forced the Volodymyr Zelensky regime to adopt a new draconian mobilization law this year, while also lowering the recruitment age from 27 to 25. Ukrainians are resisting being sent to the meat grinder proxy conflict.

Since the beginning of 2022, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has registered some 60,000 criminal cases of unauthorized abandonment of a unit and about 30,000 cases of desertion, Ukrainian media reported in October.

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💬 Pepe Escobar: Putin sent Trump a direct message that Russia’s door is open for talks

Vladimir Putin’s remarks that Russia’s door is open to restoring relations with the US can be interpreted as a “direct message” to President-elect Donald Trump, Pepe Escobar told Sputnik.

The Russian president said clearly at the Valdai Club meeting that the ball is in the US’ court, he noted.

The Brazilian geopolitical analyst also seized upon Putin’s comments that the formation of a new world order would bring with it a “moment of truth.” The recent BRICS Summit, he stressed, was a “living, breathing testimony” to the truth of Putin’s words that the old order is “irrevocably disappearing.”

Speaking on the Ukraine crisis, the president clarified “in a nutshell” that Moscow was ready for negotiations only “based on facts on the battlefield and what was agreed upon in Istanbul in April 2022,” the journalist added.

Escobar shared his personal impression that Putin’s plenary session performance “felt like a high-speed train on cruise control.”

“No political leader anywhere – recent past and present – would even come close to delivering what amounts to an extensive, detailed worldview deeply matured over a quarter of a century at the highest geopolitical level,” he said.

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📑Ukraine gets nearly $100 billion in foreign financial aid

The United States, Canada, the EU, the United Kingdom, Japan, as well as international organizations continue pouring billions of dollars in military equipment, training, and economic assistance to the Kiev regime.

Russia has stated that arms deliveries to Ukraine impede a settlement process, involve NATO countries in the conflict, and lead to unintended consequences.

👉 Check out Sputnik's infographics to see how the West sponsors its proxy war in Ukraine.

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🚜 Knockout blow for Europe’s farmers? Why EU’s food producers fear Latin America trade pact

European farmers are up in arms over the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement, which could compound their losses and further undermine competitiveness. Here’s what to know about the controversial pact:

🔸 The pact proposes slashing over 90% of existing trade barriers, and “preferential” duties for what remains.

🔸 If approved, Mercosur members (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) would enjoy favored access to Europe’s agricultural market.

🔸 Reeling from spikes in fuel and fertilizer prices caused by their politicians’ restrictions against Russia, and battered by Brussels’ ‘green agenda’ of stringent carbon emission standards, Europe’s farmers fear the trade agreement could be a death blow.

🔸 Besides competition, opponents have cited the pact’s imbalance, with Mercosur producers not facing the same food safety, GMO, health and environmental standards.

What's EU member's stance?

🔸 France has sought to join forces with Poland, Austria, Hungary and Ireland to stop the pact. To succeed, four EU members representing 35%+ of the bloc’s population must be opposed.

🔸 Chancellor Scholz of Germany, presently mired in a political crisis at home, has been one of the trade pact’s top proponents, citing its “major geostrategic role.” Berlin also stands to gain economically, as its vehicles, chemicals and machinery would enjoy preferential access to the Mercosur market.

Europe’s farmers have proven able to stand up for their interests in the past. In 2022 and 2023, as cheap Ukrainian-sourced grain flooded into Europe, farmers held mass protests, forcing the European Commission to reintroduce tariffs, saving domestic producers and costing Ukrainian latifundistas $355 mln per year.

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