Crypto News: Ukraine and Russia raise the stakes

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Donald Trump may have promised to end the war in Ukraine immediately after taking office, but that prospect is sending tensions spiking over the conflict launched by Russia.

With just weeks until Trump takes office, Kyiv seized on outgoing President Joe Biden's decision to reverse course and allow Ukraine to use American-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, for limited long-range attacks on Russian territory.

Ukrainian forces today used ATACMS to carry out their first strike on Russia's western Bryansk border region, hitting an ammunition depot, according to local Ukraine reports.

WATCH: Ukrainian armed forces carried out their first strike in a border region within Russian territory with an ATACMS missile, RBC Ukraine reported. Oliver Crook breaks down the situation. Source: Bloomberg TV

That came on the same day President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing Russia to fire nuclear weapons in response to a massive conventional attack on its soil.

Markets that have long shrugged off the daily toll in Ukraine took fright at the developments, with a rush into traditional haven assets including the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc and German bonds.

In the Baltic region, which is on the front line for any further Russian aggression, Finland and Lithuania yesterday reported separate incidents of severed subsea data cables. The cables, one connecting Finland and Germany and the other Lithuania to Sweden, were cut early yesterday in what was likely an external impact.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said what many were thinking when he described the incidents as suspected sabotage. Finland and Sweden joined NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Moscow and Kyiv look to be using the remaining time before Trump's return to push as hard as they can to maximize their relative positions, in anticipation of a push for negotiations to end the war.

With Group of 20 leaders pulling back from language denouncing Russia at their summit in Brazil this week, the rest of the world may be prepared only to look on. — A lan Crawford

Trump's second term in office will have repercussions for US policy on Russia, Ukraine and NATO. Tune in to our Live Q&A on Nov. 20 at 9 a.m. ET, where Bloomberg reporters will answer questions on what that might look like.

The traditional family photo at the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro descended into farce yesterday when Biden and the prime ministers of Canada and Italy were absent from the lineup. Whether it was an act of protest against the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — standing in for Putin — or down to disorganization, the symbolism was unmistakable: The lack of unity was both a reflection of how difficult it has been to get everyone on the same page and evidence of the shifting global order.

World leaders pose for a photograph during the G-20 Summit yesterday. Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg

The 15 largest European members of NATO may have to double yearly defense spending to $720 billion to meet the challenge of Russia's aggression in Ukraine and the possibility of dwindling US support in a Trump presidency, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Europe urgently needs battle tanks, artillery and infantry fighting vehicles, as well as support aircraft such as tankers, cargo planes and sub-hunters.

A top US envoy for the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, arrived in Beirut as the Biden administration steps up efforts to clinch a cease-fire between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel in its final weeks in power. American and Israeli officials see a truce in Lebanon as more likely than one in Gaza, with talks between Israel and Hamas having ground to a halt.

China said an SUV rammed into a crowd at a primary school, leaving multiple people injured — an incident that comes with the nation on edge due to a string of attacks. In the deadliest known act of civilian violence since President Xi Jinping rolled out a sprawling surveillance system, a man last week rammed his vehicle into pedestrians outside a sports center in the southern city of Zhuhai, killing some 35 people and injuring dozens of others.

A Hong Kong court sentenced former democracy advocate Benny Tai to 10 years in prison, the longest penalty meted out using a China-imposed security law. Jail times were handed down to 45 defendants today following their arrests in 2021 in a sweeping police campaign that effectively silenced the city's entire political opposition and drew condemnation from Western governments.

WATCH: Bloomberg's Minmin Low reports from outside the Hong Kong courthouse. Source: Bloomberg TV

Italy's center-left won back the region of Umbria and held on to Emilia-Romagna in a double blow for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing national coalition.

An opposition leader won elections in the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland, beating incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi.

US Justice Department antitrust officials have decided to ask a judge to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the world's biggest tech companies.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the country wants to restore direct flights with India, as tensions between the two Asian neighbors ease following a four-year impasse on border disputes.

Key senators from both parties are demanding more information on a House sexual misconduct probe into Trump's nominee to be US Attorney General, former Representative Matt Gaetz.

Matt Gaetz. Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg

Gaetz quit Congress following his nomination, days before its Ethics Committee was scheduled to deliberate on how to handle results from its probe into allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl in exchange for money, took illicit drugs and accepted improper gifts. He has denied the accusations.

Calls for more scrutiny even from members of Trump's own party signal that Gaetz's confirmation process will be a rocky one, even after Republicans take control of the Senate in January.

One thing to watch today: Trump plans to attend the launch of Elon Musk's Starship rocket in Texas.

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Small family farmers grow more than a third of the world's food and up to 80% in regions like Asia and Africa. Yet just 14% of the $9.1 billion in international public climate finance for agriculture and land use was targeted at activities most relevant to them, according to an analysis by Climate Focus. That picture becomes even more distorted when you consider that less than 3% of all public climate finance goes into food systems, even though they make up about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Tens of thousands of protesters, including Māori warriors in traditional dress, marched on New Zealand's parliament today in opposition to a draft law they say would erode the rights of indigenous people. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's National Party won't support the bill past the first reading so it won't become law, but its introduction to parliament for debate has fueled racial tensions.

WATCH: Thousands of protesters marched on New Zealand's parliament. Source: Bloomberg

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