A Taiwanese army pilot was offered US $15 million to defect by landing an US-made transport helicopter on a People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier during a military drill near the island, according to prosecutors.

But the scheme fell through after the officer was arrested in August for allegedly spying for Beijing.

The pilot, identified by his surname Hsieh, was approached in June by mainland Chinese intelligence officials through a retired Taiwanese army officer to fly the CH-47 Chinook helicopter onto the aircraft carrier.

Argentina President Javier Milei gifts Hanukkah menorah to Zelensky.

Latest Gaza toll:

18,205 killed
49,645 wounded

IDF evacuates damaged armored vehicles from Gaza.

Palestinian man in Khan Yunis, Gaza to Israel:

We are steadfast in Khan Yunis! I swear to God we will not leave here until we die, forever.

U.S. and Ukraine Search for a New Strategy After Failed Counteroffensive, NYT reports.

The U.S. is stepping up the face-to-face military advice it provides to Ukraine, dispatching a three-star general to Kyiv to spend considerable time on the ground.

U.S. and Ukrainian military officers say they hope to work out the details of a new strategy next month in a series of war games scheduled to be held in Wiesbaden, Germany.

The Americans are pushing for a conservative strategy that focuses on holding the territory Ukraine has, digging in and building up supplies and forces over the course of the year.

The Ukrainians want to go on the attack, either on the ground or with long-range strikes, with the hopes of seizing the world’s attention.

Yemen’s Houthis hit another vessel in the Red Sea with missile.

M/T Strinda tanker was attacked by a missile coming out of a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen.

The vessel is battling a fire, the officials said.

It was struck 60 miles north of the narrow Bab el-Mandab Strait.

The Strinda is a Norwegian-owned chemical tanker, according to its owner, Mowinckel Chemical Tankers AS.

Source: The War Zone

US will supply weapons to Israel until Hamas is completely destroyed, Joe Biden says.

Biden last night:

Were there no Israel, there wouldn't be a Jew in the world who was safe.

Biden last night:

You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist. I’m a Zionist.

Robin Brooks, an economist from the Institute of International Finance, wrote about how Greek maritime oligarchs are serving Putin's fleets. 👇🏻

1. Greek shipping oligarchs are constantly selling oil tankers to Putin's shadow fleet. That's why the share of Greek-owned vessels out of Russia's Baltic ports keeps falling (blue), even as Russian shipborne oil exports are running at record highs. The EU looks the other way...

2. There's countless examples of Greek shipping oligarchs selling oil tankers to Putin's shadow fleet. Here's the Kira K (IMO 9346720), which was owned until June 2023 by Atlas Maritime with headquarters in Athens, Greece. This ship was sold to a "mystery" buyer, i.e. Putin...

3. Another example is the "Fighter Two," which until May 2023 was owned by the Tsangaris Bros of Piraeus, Greece. This ship (IMO 9296391) was sold to an undisclosed buyer, i.e. another likely addition to Putin's shadow fleet that allows Russia to export oil outside the G7 cap...

4. These are just two examples in a long list of ongoing oil tanker sales by Greece's shipping oligarchs to Putin's shadow fleet. The EU should have prohibited these sales a long time ago. It chose not to because of lobbying by Greece's shipping oligarchs. This has to stop now...

IDF says out of 105 IDF soldiers killed in Gaza, 13 were killed in friendly-fire incidents.

They were hit from the air, some by tank fire and some by infantry fighters.

IDF soldiers burning Palestinian flags they brought from Beit Hanoun, Gaza.

Ukraine's Zelensky met with leaders of US defense companies in Washington.

The Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, Danilov:

Hopes for a counteroffensive were not realized. NATO textbooks, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine used to try to advance, "must be sent back to the archives."

People sometimes make mistakes. You can't be an excellent student all your life. This does not mean that victory will not be on our side.

The situation at the front is “very difficult,” but despite the problems in Congress, I believe that some kind of military funding from the United States is obligatory and will arrive."

Spoiler: Congress goes on recess on December 15.

New IDF footage from Gaza.

New Poland PM Donald Tusk demands full mobilization of the free world, the Western world, to help Ukraine in the war against Russia.