Russian withdrawal from the Crimean peninsula in response to Russia’s aggression against the Ukrainians: a key warning to the world and to the U.S.
Russia said it would help evacuate people from Kherson to other areas as the Ukrainian offensive continued in the region. The announcement came just hours after the head of the Moscow-backed administration appealed to the Kremlin for help moving residents out of harm’s way in the latest indication that Russian forces were struggling in the face of Ukrainian advances.
Russia’s declaration of annexation of four regions ofUkraine, which also included Lyman, is clouded by the withdrawal of Russia from that area. The city will allow the Ukrainian troops to potentially push further into Moscow’s claims to its own land.
The signs show that Putin misunderstands how the world would respond to his brutality. Macron, for instance, said the attacks would prompt France to increase military assistance to Kyiv. Traumatic footage of the Ukrainian civilians live streaming Russian missiles roaring over their heads and explosions may serve to give Western publics more reason to believe that the Putin energy war is a hoax. And if anything, the turning of fire on civilians hints at Russian – rather than Ukrainian – weakness, since it suggests Putin is unable to respond in the field to humiliating defeats for his forces.
Russia launched a renewed attack on Kherson, after a wave of fatal shelling in the region earlier this week. Ukrainian forces retook control of the city last month in one of the most significant breakthroughs of the war to date.
The leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, blamed the retreat, without evidence, on one general being “covered up for by higher-up leaders in the General Staff.” He wanted more drastic measures.
On the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, a governor of the city of Sevastopol announced an emergency situation at an airfield. There were loud bangs and huge clouds of smoke that could be seen from a distance. Authorities said a plane rolled off the runway at the Belbek airfield and ammunition that was reportedly on board caught fire.
Russian bombardments have intensified in recent days as Moscow moved swiftly with its latest annexation and ordered a mass mobilization at home to bolster its forces. The unpopularity of the Russian call-up has caused tens of thousands of men to leave the country.
Mr. Zelensky has given hundreds of speeches this year in an effort to steel his country to fight Russia’s army and to encourage support for Ukraine abroad.
Russian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, during a weekend airstrike
A total of 16 people were killed in 71 Russian attacks on Saturday, including three emergency workers, according toYanushevych. 64 people were injured in different ways, he said.
Photographs of the convoy attack were posted by the Security Service of Ukraine, a secret police force. At least one truck had been torn down and burned corpses in what remained of its bed. The vehicle in front of the convoy was on fire. Bodies lay on the side of the road or still inside vehicles, which appeared pockmarked with bullet holes.
In other fighting reported Saturday, four people were killed by Russian shelling Friday in the Donetsk region, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. The Russian army struck the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv twice overnight, once with drones and the second time with missiles, according to regional Gov. Vitaliy Kim.
Russian forces seized the director-general of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, according to the Ukrainian state nuclear company, on Friday in an attempt to secure Moscow’s hold on the annexed territory.
Russia did not publicly comment on the report. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Russia told it that “the director-general of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was temporarily detained to answer questions.”
“Unfortunately, we already see that they (Russians) are striking at the generating facilities again, trying to cut off our nuclear and thermal power plants, to damage additional key energy hubs, focusing their attacks on these facilities,” Kharchenko said. The situation in Ukranian is very difficult and there will be no quick improvement in it.
Shurokin appeared on Moscow television last week to suggest the Kremlin’s new objective – that actually dates back decades – is to force Ukraine into Russia’s orbit and keep it from joining the EU and especially NATO. The goal is for Ukraine to be friendly to the Russian state, according to Shurokin.
The World Bank Monitor report on Ukraine’s response to Kiev’s attack on Kiev after the February 11 attack: An airstrike warning against Ukrainian militants in Enerhodar
In Washington, President Joe Biden signed a bill on Friday that gives another $12.3billion in military and economic aid to the war in Ukraine.
It comes two days after an eruption damaged a crucial bridge to Crimea and dealt a strategic blow to the Kremlin. A wounded Vladimir Putin, who has also seen weeks of Russian losses on the battlefield, had been under pressure to respond with force following the explosion, which Putin on Sunday blamed on Kyiv and described as an act of terror.
The Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda wrote that in the last few days of their occupation, Russians were plagued by desertion, poor planning, and the delayed arrival of reserves.
Crews restored power and cellular connection in Enerhodar, the city near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that is currently under Russian control, a senior official said Sunday.
“Water supply will be restored in the near future,” Rogov, a pro-Russian leader in the regional Zaporizhzhia government, wrote in a telegram post Sunday
Rogov also said that Ukrainians “have concentrated significant number of militants in Zaporizhzhia direction” and that the risk of storming the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant “remains high”.
Orlov said “the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly tried to deliver humanitarian supplies with food, hygiene products and so on to the city,” adding that Ukraine is “ready to organize prompt delivery and distribution of drinking water in Enerhodar” but that Russian forces have not let humanitarian aid through.
Multiple explosions in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities woke up the population, as Russia unleashed a wave of airstrikes that evoked the first days of its invasion.
The operator said the nation has a significant deficit in its power system due to months of strikes. Ukrainian authorities are engaged in the delicate work of trying to balance the national power grid, leaving many households without electricity.
In some ways, Monday’s attacks were not a surprise – especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused Kyiv of attacking the Kerch bridge, calling it an “act of terrorism.”
India also called for de-escarence after the strikes, as China said that it hopes the situation in Ukraine will soon be under control. India has said it is “deeply concerned” by the escalation of the conflict and said that “escalation of hostilities is in no one’s interest,” urging an “immediate cessation of hostilities” and return to the “path of dialogue. ” Other European leaders have also condemned the attack.
The assault damaged civilian infrastructure in cities all across Ukraine, killing multiple people and knocking out power in pockets of the country. Giles said that they were an indication of the threat from Russia. “For many months now, the Russian objective has been to destroy Ukraine rather than possess it.”
The Russian president said that as soon as the Russians make a move, they should start making noise, clamor, and crackle for the whole universe.
During the morning hours on Monday, there were at least four explosions in Ukrainian capital. A children’s playground was among the sites hit by a rocket or missile, according to Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, who tweeted images of a smoldering crater in the ground next to the site.
For several hours on Monday morning Kyiv’s subway system was suspended, with underground stations serving as bunkers. The air raid alert was lifted at midday and rescue workers were trying to pull people out of the rubble.
Ukrainian Attacks on a Bridge: Putin’s Special Forces and the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Mark Rutte,
Demys Shmygal, Ukraine’s Prime Minister, said Monday that as of 11 a.m. local time, a total of 11 “crucial infrastructure facilities” in eight regions had been damaged.
The Security Council held an operational meeting after Putin called the explosion on the bridge a terrorist attack and said they were from the Ukrainian special services.
The Russian-appointed head of annexed Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said he had “good news” Monday, claiming that Russia’s approaches to what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine “have changed.”
If action to destroy the enemy’s infrastructure had been taken on a daily basis, we would have accomplished everything by May, and the regime in Kyiv would have been defeated.
“Russia is trying to punish Ukraine for daring to be Free by launching missiles across the country,” said the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Russia’s attempt to dominate Ukraine by plunging it into the cold will fail.
Several European countries that relied heavily on Russian energy are facing a cost-of-living crisis without any signs of progress in the war, which endangers public support.
“Again, Putin is massively terrorizing innocent civilians in Kyiv and other cities,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. The Netherlands is against these heinous acts. Putin does not seem to understand that the will of the Ukrainian people is unbreakable.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the attacks “another unacceptable escalation of the war and, as always, civilians are paying the highest price.”
Ukrain’s cultural culture minister speaks out against strikes at Kiev’s main passenger terminal in a video message to the G7 emergency meeting
The G7 will hold an emergency meeting via video conference on Tuesday and Zelensky will address that meeting, as was confirmed by the office of the German Chancellor.
In a video posted to social media, President Zelenskyy stated that strikes disproportionately targeted civilian infrastructure, including power plants and water heating facilities.
At least two museums and the National Philharmonic concert halls sustained heavy damage in Kyiv, says a Ukrainian Culture Minister. During the rush hour this morning, trains were delayed because of a nearby strike at the country’s main passenger terminal.
According to Oleh SynieHubov, head of the regional military administration, at least 10 missiles struck targets, including a hospital and energy facilities. The power was out for a long time in the city. The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said residents should use makeshift centers to collect food and drinks, and to charge their cellphones, since there is a lot of damage to the infrastructure.
“This happened at rush hour, as lots of public transport was operating in the city,” said Ihor Makovtsev, the head of the department of transport for the Dnipro city council, as he stood by the wreckage. He added that the bus driver and four passengers had been taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
“It’s difficult for me to find any logic to their so-called artillery work because all our transportation is only for civilian purposes,” Makovtsev said.
Viktor Shevchenko’s balcony in Kyiv – the first day of the 229th anniversary of the Russian-Russian War
81-year-old Viktor Shevchenko looked out from what once were the windows of his first floor balcony, just next to the bus stop. The ground is covered with shattered glass. He said he had been watering the plants on his balcony just minutes before the blast, but went to his kitchen to make breakfast.
He said the explosion blew open all of his cabinets and almost knocked him to the ground. “Five minutes before, and I would have been on the balcony, full of glass.”
With the sense widespread in Kyiv among officials and civilians that, short of nuclear intensification, Russia cannot do much more to Ukraine that it is not already doing, the allure of curtailing Moscow’s missile capabilities at home outweighs any escalatory concern.
“We warn Zelenskyy that Russia wasn’t really beginning yet,” wrote Kadyrov, who is a loyalist to Putin.
Michael Bociurkiw is a global affairs analyst. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and used to be a spokesman for the Organization for Security in Europe. He is a regular contributor to CNN Opinion. His opinions are not the opinions of the commentary. View more opinion at CNN.
Recent days have shown that some sites beyond the theater of ground fighting are vulnerable to attack. The fact that a target so deep in Russian-held territory could be hit in the first place suggests a serious Ukrainian threat towards key Russian assets.
The strikes are a significant event, close to the government quarter. This 229th day of the war should be considered a red line by Western governments.
As of midday local time, the area around my office in Odesa remained eerily quiet in between air raid sirens, with reports that three missiles and five kamikaze drones were shot down. (Normally at this time of the day, nearby restaurants would be heaving with customers, and chatter of plans for upcoming weddings and parties).
The scenes were reminiscent of the early days of the war in the country when Russian forces were close to the capital. In one metro station serving as a shelter, a large group of people took cover as a small group sang patriotic Ukrainian songs.
Millions of people will spend most of the day in bomb shelters, at the request of officials, while businesses have been ordered to shift work online as much as possible.
Just as many regions of Ukraine were starting to roar back to life, and with countless asylum seekers returning home, the attacks risk causing another blow to business confidence.
Emergency services respond to the jubilation of Vladimir Putin during a bridge-building event that marked the beginning of a humanitarian crisis in Europe
Hardwiring newly claimed territory with expensive, record-breaking infrastructure projects seems to be a penchant of dictators. In 2018, Putin personally opened the Kerch bridge – Europe’s longest – by driving a truck across it. That same year, one of the first things Chinese President Xi Jinping did after Beijing reclaimed Macau and Hong Kong was to connect the former Portuguese and British territories with the world’s longest sea crossing bridge. Two years of delays resulted in the opening of the road bridge.
The explosion lit up social media with funny meme, like a Christmas tree. Many textmessaged with their sense of jubilation.
It was also an act of selfish desperation: facing increasing criticism at home, including on state-controlled television, has placed Putin on unusually thin ice.
The Kremlin appointed a new overall commander for Russia’s invasion after growing setbacks. But there is little sign that Gen. Sergey Surovikin can lead his forces back onto the front foot before the end of the year, given the pace and cost of the Ukrainian counter-offensives.
The importance of this is that Washington and allies must use urgent phone diplomacy to try to convince China and India to refrain from using even more deadly weapons.
Furthermore, high tech defense systems are needed to protect Kyiv and crucial energy infrastructure around the country. The need to protect heating systems is critical in the upcoming winter season.
The time has also come for the West to further isolate Russia with trade and travel restrictions – but for that to have sufficient impact, Turkey and Gulf states, which receive many Russian tourists, need to be pressured to come on board.
Anything short of these measures will only allow Putin to continue his senseless violence and further exacerbate a humanitarian crisis that will reverberate throughout Europe. A weak reaction will be taken as a sign in the Kremlin that it can continue to weaponize energy, migration and food.
At least 19 people were killed and 105 others were injured in Russian missile attacks across Ukraine on Monday, according to preliminary data, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said Tuesday.
Critical and civil infrastructure was hit in 12 regions and the capital, where more than 30 fires broke out, the emergency services said, adding the blazes have been put out.
The attack on Ukraine on Monday: Moscow’s response to the US-NAT War on UaS Air Forces and Human Rights Violations
Zelensky has been trying to get more long range missile systems from the US and NATO. Zelensky requested more air defense help during a conversation with US President Joe Biden last Sunday. He told Biden that “Russian missile terror” has destroyed about half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
In recent weeks Russian bombardment has left a lot of the country without access to heat and power.
The attacks snatched away the semblance of normality that city dwellers, who spent months earlier in the war in subways turned into air raid shelters, have managed to restore to their lives and raised fears of new strikes.
For the world to see it, the message was obvious. Putin does not intend to be humiliated. He won’t admit defeat. He is ready to cause carnage and terror after his string of battlefield reversals.
But the targets on Monday also had little military value and, if anything, served to reflect Putin’s need to find new targets because of his inability to inflict defeats on Ukraine on the battlefield.
The bombing of power installations on Monday, in particular, appeared to be an indication of the misery the Russian President can cause as the winter sets in, even as his forces retreat in the face of Ukrainian troops.
The White House didn’t specify what advanced air systems would be sent to the Ukrainians, but Biden had talked to Zelensky and offered to help defend against Russian air attacks.
John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, suggested Washington was looking favorably on Ukraine’s requests and was in touch with the government in Kyiv almost every day. “We do the best we can in subsequent packages to meet those needs,” he told CNN’s Kate Bolduan.
Kirby could not say for certain whether Putin was shifting his strategy from a losing battlefield war to a campaign to degrade civilians’ quality of life in Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, though he said it was a trend which had been going on for a while.
It was something they had been planning for a long time. Kirby said that it was not to say that the explosion on the bridge might have accelerated some of their planning.
The new Russian general in charge of the war had served in Syria and Chechnya. In both places, Russia is accused of committing serious human rights violations, for example bombarding civilians and scuttling districts and infrastructure.
Western concerns that Monday’s rush-hour attacks in Ukraine could be the start of another pivot in the conflict were raised by French President MadameMacron.
As we get into the winter, he was telling us where he was going. He is going to try to force the Ukrainian population to compromise, to give up territory, by going after this infrastructure,” Vindman said on CNN’s “New Day.”
If we have modern equipment, we could probably shoot down more drones and missiles and not kill people in the process.
The lesson of this horrible war is that everything Putin has done to fracture a nation he doesn’t believe has the right to exist has only strengthened and unified it.
Olena Gnes, a mother of three who is documenting the war on YouTube, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper live from her basement in Ukraine on Monday that she was angry at the return of fear and violence to the lives of Ukrainians from a new round of Russian “terror.”
“This is just another terror to provoke maybe panic, to scare you guys in other countries or to show to his own people that he is still a bloody tyrant, he is still powerful and look what fireworks we can arrange,” she said.
He concluded, “May the New Year bring all this. We are prepared to fight for it. That’s why each of us is here. I’m here. We are here. You are here. Everyone is here. We are all Ukraine.”
MOSCOW — For months, Russia’s state media has insisted that the country was hitting only military targets in Ukraine, leaving out the suffering that the invasion has brought to millions of civilians.
On Monday, state television not only reported on the suffering, but also flaunted it. It showed plumes of smoke and carnage in central Kyiv, along with empty store shelves and a long-range forecast promising months of freezing temperatures there.
Ukrainian air defense battalions have become innovative: One video from Monday, referenced by Zelensky, showed a soldier using a shoulder-held missile to bring down a Russian projectile, purportedly a cruise missile.
As Ukraine races to shore up its missile defenses in the wake of the assault, the math for Moscow is simple: A percentage of projectiles are bound to get through.
Experts think that Russia will not form a recurrent pattern of aerial bombardment, and Moscow may not be able to keep it up.
Some of that inventory was dispatched this week. But Russia has recently resorted to using much older and less precise KH-22 missiles (originally made as an anti-ship weapon), of which it still has large inventories, according to Western officials. They’re designed to take out aircraft carriers. A KH-22 was responsible for the dozens of casualties at a shopping mall in Kremenchuk in June.
The Russians have also been adapting the S-300 – normally an air defense missile – as an offensive weapon, with some effect. Their speed makes it difficult to intercept them, and they wreaked devastation in Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv. But they are hardly accurate.
He told CNN’s Richard Quest that this was the “first time from the beginning of the war” that Russia has “dramatically targeted” energy infrastructure.
In the past nine months the Ukrainians have had plenty of practice with their air defense systems, including the BUK and S-300 systems. The equipment does not last forever, and it may lose some of it’s effectiveness in combat operations, Ihnat said.
It’s not easy to estimate the proportion of Shahed drones that will be eliminated. Zelensky said he gets a message about the use of Iranian Shaheds every 10 minutes. But he also said the bulk of them were being shot down.
Air defense, missiles and intelligence: Ukrainian wish-list at the Brussels meeting on tiling of NATO and military intelligence missions in Ukraine
missiles for their existing systems and a transition to Western-origin layers of air defense system were included in a Ukrainian wish-list that was shared at the Wednesday meeting.
The system is considered to be one of the most capable long-range weapons to defend airspace against missiles as well as some aircraft. Because of its long range and high altitude capability it can shoot down missiles and aircraft that are not in its intended targets.
Western systems are coming to life. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Tuesday that a “new era of air defense has begun” with the arrival of the first IRIS-T from Germany, and two units of the US National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAM) expected soon.
This is just the beginning. The item on the agenda888-607-3166 is strengthening (Ukrainians) air defense, it was said by Reznikov as he met withUkraine’s donors at the Brussels meeting. The person is feeling optimistic.
Ukraine “badly needed” modern systems such as the IRIS-T that arrived this week from Germany and the NASAMS expected from the United States, Bronk said.
The senior military commander of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, thanked Poland on Tuesday for training an air defense battalion that destroyed nine of 11 Shaheeds.
He said Poland had given Ukraine “systems” to help destroy the drones. Last month there were reports that the Polish government had bought advanced Israeli equipment (Israel has a policy of not selling “advanced defensive technology” to Kyiv) and was then transferring it to Ukraine.
International organizations pledged more than $1 billion to fix Ukraine’s infrastructure on Tuesday. Last week, the Pentagon announced that an additional $275 million in security assistance for Ukraine had been approved, including weapons, artillery rounds and equipment to help Ukraine boost its air defense. In November, the US announced a $53 million package to support repairs to Ukraine’s power system.
The images captured hundreds of cargo trucks backed up and waiting to cross from Crimea into Russia by ferry, some five days after the bombing. The images, captured by Maxar Technologies, show a large backup at the port of Kerch and a line of trucks at an airport that is used as a staging area.
Ignatov said the long lines for the ferry crossing had been made worse by the security checkpoint set up after the bridge explosion.
The Russian War With Ukraine: Predictions for the Next War, Observational Evidence, and Implications For The Russian Regime On The Ground
Not for the first time, the war is teetering towards an unpredictable new phase. Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme, said this is the third, fourth, or fifth war that they have been observing.
Experts say that the next few weeks of the war will likely be vital, and another spike in intensity looms over Ukraine, as each side seeks to strike another blow.
Giles said, “Anything that could be credulously described as a victory of the Ukraine is now much more plausible.” “The response from Russia is likely to escalate further.”
Oleksii Hromov, a senior Ukrainian military official, said last week that Kyiv’s forces have recaptured some 120 settlements since late September as they advance in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions. On Wednesday, Ukraine said it had liberated more five settlements in its slow but steady push in Kherson.
These counter-offensives have moved the war in a different direction, refuting the idea that while the Ukrainians were able to defend territory, they couldn’t seize ground.
“The Russians are playing for the whistle – (hoping to) avoid a collapse in their frontline before the winter sets in,” Samir Puri, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the author of “Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine,” told CNN.
The Russians would be delighted with a Christmas with the frontline looking as it is.
Landing a major blow in Donbas would send another powerful signal, and Ukraine will be eager to improve on its gains before temperatures plummet on the battlefield, and the full impact of rising energy prices is felt around Europe.
“There are so many reasons why there is an incentive for Ukraine to get things done quickly,” Giles said. There are always going to be tests of resilience for the Ukraine, its Western backers, as well as the winter energy crisis in Europe.
Russian commanders on the ground know that their supplies are running out, and Jeremy Fleming, a UK’s spy chief, said in a speech on Tuesday.
The ISW said Russia may have limited options to disrupt ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensives with its limited supply of precision weapons.
The success rate of Ukrainian intercepts of Russian cruise missiles has risen since the beginning of the invasion in February according to a military expert with the London-based Royal United Services Institute.
Any further Belarusian involvement in the war could also have a psychological impact, Puri suggested. In the West, there is a tendency towards fighting one army. Inside Russia, Belarus joining the invasion “would play into Putin’s narrative that this war is about reuniting the lands of ancient Rus states.”
“The reopening of a northern front would be another new challenge for Ukraine,” Giles said. It would allow Russia a new route into the region that was captured by Ukrainians, he said.
By flipping the narrative of the conflict over the past two months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has achieved one of his own key objectives: showing Ukraine’s Western allies that their military aid can help Kyiv win the war.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Ukraine needed “more” systems to better halt missile attacks, ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
Vladimir Putin meets the European Union in Kiev after the Thursday night attack on energy infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine)
The coming weeks are crucial for both the battlefield and in Europe, according to experts. Giles said that where Putin goes next depends on the response of the rest of the world. “Russia’s attitude is shaped by the failure of Western countries to confront and deter it.”
At least three people, including a 14-year-old, were injured and two people pulled from a damaged home on Thursday, Klitschko said earlier. There were attacks on the capital which caused homes, an industrial facility and a playground to be damaged.
It wasn’t unusual for rails to operate as normal, despite reports of attacks near the city’s main station.
Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff, Andriy Yermak, again called on the west to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems. “We have no time for slow actions,” he said online.
Klitshchko posted a photo of shrapnel labeled “Geran-2,” Russian’s designation for the Iranian drones, but he removed the picture after commenters criticized him for confirming a Russian strike.
The European Union foreign ministers will meet in Luxembourg today. The EU’s top diplomat said before the meeting that it would look into “concrete evidence” of Tehran’s involvement in Ukrainian politics.
The attack on energy infrastructure caused fire and serious destruction in the Kamianske district of Dnipropetrovsk region, according to a regional military official.
“Currently, all services are working on eliminating the consequences of shelling and restoring electricity supply. Each region has a crisis response plan.
“We ask Ukrainians, in order to stabilize the energy system, to take a united and conscious approach to economical consumption of electricity. Especially during peak hours.
Ukraine’s state energy supplier Ukrenergo said the power grid in the country remains “under control,” adding that repair crews are working to curb the consequences of the attacks.
Shmyhal’s announcement comes as Ukraine grapples with sweeping attacks on critical energy facilities, following deadly Russian strikes over the past week.
The War Between Europe and the Kremlin: A Talk by David Andelman at the First European High-Energy Collider
Editor’s Note: David A. Andelman, a contributor to CNN, twice winner of the Deadline Club Award, is a chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, author of “A Red Line in the Sand: Diplomacy, Strategy, and the History of Wars That Might Still Happen” and blogs at Andelman Unleashed. He formerly was a correspondent for The New York Times and CBS News in Europe and Asia. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion at CNN.
The obvious is that he is losing badly on the battlefield and failing to achieve even the scaled back objectives of his invasion.
This ability to keep going depends on a lot of variables, including availability of vital energy supplies for winter, popular will across a broad range of nations, and conflicting priorities.
European Union powers in the morning of Friday agreed to control energy prices that have gone up since Russia embargoed imports and the Kremlin cut natural gas supplies.
These include an emergency cap on the benchmark European gas trading hub – the Dutch Title Transfer Facility – and permission for EU gas companies to create a cartel to buy gas on the international market.
While French President Emmanuel Macron waxed euphoric leaving the summit, which he described as having “maintained European unity,” he conceded that there was only a “clear mandate” for the European Commission to start working on a gas cap mechanism.
Still, divisions remain, with Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, skeptical of any price caps. Energy ministers have to figure out details with Germany about the caps they want to put in place.
These divisions are all part of Putin’s fondest dream. Manifold forces in Europe could prove central to achieving success from the Kremlin’s viewpoint, which amounts to the continent failing to agree on essentials.
Germany and France are already at loggerheads on many of these issues. In an effort to reach some semblance of compromise, the German and French leaders will hold a conference call on Wednesday.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/25/opinions/putin-prolonge-war-ukraine-winter-andelman/index.html
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: What will she tell us about the future of the fight against the EU, Hungary and Ukraine?
A new government in Italy has taken power. Giorgia Meloni was sworn in Saturday as Italy’s first woman prime minister and has attempted to brush aside the post-fascist aura of her party. One of her far-right coalition partners meanwhile, has expressed deep appreciation for Putin.
At a gathering of his loyalists, Berlusconi described the 20 bottles of vodka Putin sent him on his 86th birthday and the sweet letter he received.
The other leading member of the ruling Italian coalition, Matteo Salvini, named Saturday as deputy prime minister, said during the campaign, “I would not want the sanctions [on Russia] to harm those who impose them more than those who are hit by them.”
At the same time, Poland and Hungary, longtime ultra-right-wing soulmates united against liberal policies of the EU that seemed calculated to reduce their influence, have now disagreed over Ukraine. Hungary has a populist leader named Viktor Orban who is known for his pro-Putin sentiment.
This is not easy. Congress’s likely new Speaker, Republican Kevin McCarthy, has warned the Biden administration cannot expect a “blank cheque” from the new GOP-led House of Representatives.
Meanwhile on Monday, the influential 30-member Congressional progressive caucus called on Biden to open talks with Russia on ending the conflict while its troops are still occupying vast stretches of the country and its missiles and drones are striking deep into the interior.
Hours later, caucus chair Mia Jacob, facing a firestorm of criticism, emailed reporters with a statement “clarifying” their remarks in support of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to renew America’s support.
The Russian War on the Balkans: An Overview of the Response of the Ukrainian Regime to Putin’s Intervention on the West Bank of the Kherson Region
In short, there is every incentive for Putin to prolong the conflict as long as possible to allow many of these forces in the West to kick in. A long, cold winter in Europe, persistent inflation and higher interest rates leading to a recession on both sides of the Atlantic could mean irresistible pressure on already skeptical leaders to dial back on financial and military support.
This support in terms of arms, materiel and now training for Ukrainian forces have been the underpinnings of their remarkable battlefield successes against a weakening, undersupplied and ill-prepared Russian military.
Russia is desperate to get the components it needs for the production of high-tech weaponry that is being hampered by the western sanctions and embargoes.
Russian production of hypersonic missiles has all but ceased “due to the lack of necessary semi-conductors,” said the report. Aircraft are being cannibalized for spare parts, plants producing anti-aircraft systems have shut down, and “Russia has reverted to Soviet-era defense stocks” for replenishment. The Soviet era ended more than 30 years ago.
Putin has also tried, though he has been stymied at most turns, to establish black market networks abroad to source what he needs to fuel his war machine – much as Kim Jong-un has done in North Korea. The United States has already uncovered and recently sanctioned vast networks of such shadow companies and individuals centered in hubs from Taiwan to Armenia, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, and Luxembourg to source high-tech goods for Russia’s collapsing military-industrial complex.
The Justice Department is accusing individuals and companies of trying to smuggle high-tech equipment into Russia in violation of sanctions.
The Ukrainian president said Friday was a historic day after Russia withdrew from the west bank of the Kherson region.
He gave Pelosi the Ukrainian flag with the signatures of troops from Bakhmut and asked her to support Ukraine. She handed him an American flag that had been flown over the US Capitol, which he carried out of the chamber.
Zelensky expressed his gratitude to the military units involved in the operation — “absolutely everyone, from privates to generals, the Armed Forces, intelligence, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Guard — all those who brought this day closer for Kherson region.”
Due to the threat of mines, stabilization measures would follow. “The occupiers left a lot of mines and explosives, in particular at vital facilities. We will be clearing them,” he said.
Our defenders are watched by police, power engineers and other people. Social services, medicine, and communications are coming back. … Life is returning,” he said.
“I Wanna Die”: The Story of Vladimir Putin in the Afterglow of the Crimean Reunification, and after the Russian Revolution of Kherson
On Friday, officials warned displaced residents to avoid returning to their homes in the new areas of Kherson, saying it is too dangerous now.
The leader of the regional military administration of Mykolaiv went to the small city of Snihurivka Friday to discuss how life can be better in liberated territories of the region.
“Despite the fact that the relevant services have begun to remove mines in the liberated territories, I warn local residents to be careful,” Kim said.
Now Poland is facing the repercussions from these attacks – and it’s not the only bordering country. Russian rockets have also knocked out power across neighboring Moldova, which is not a NATO member, and therefore attracted considerably less attention than the Polish incident.
But beyond these most recent missile attacks lies a laundry list of horrors Putin has launched that only seems to have driven his nation further from the pack of civilized powers that he once sought so desperately to join.
In November, the Russian military retreated from Kherson city, which had been captured since the beginning of the invasion. Since then, Russian forces have stationed themselves across the river from Kherson and regularly shell the city from there.
Russian soldiers have rebelled against what they were told to do and refuse to fight. The Defense Ministry believes that Russian troops could desert or shoot at retreating soldiers.
Indeed a hotline and Telegram channel, launched as a Ukrainian military intelligence project called “I want to live,” designed to assist Russian soldiers eager to defect, has taken off, reportedly booking some 3,500 calls in its first two months of activity.
Diplomatically, Putin finds himself increasingly isolated on the world stage. He was the only head of state who stayed away from a G20 session. Though Putin once lusted after a return to the G7 (known as the G8 before he was ousted after his seizure of Crimea), inclusion now seems but a distant dream. Russia’s sudden ban on 100 Canadians, including Canadian-American Jim Carrey, from entering the country only made the comparison with North Korea more striking.
Above all, many of the best and brightest in virtually every field have now fled Russia. This includes writers, artists and journalists as well as some of the most creative technologists, scientists and engineers.
One leading Russian journalist who fled in March, and is now living in Berlin, told me last week that he is prepared to accept that he may never go back to his homeland.
Defeasibility of Russia’s Future Combat Air System: A Case Study of the French-German Joint FACS Project in Mykolaiv
Rumbling in the background is the West’s attempt to diversify away from Russian oil and natural gas in an effort to deprive the country of material resources to pursue this war. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told the G20 that they had learnt a lesson about unsustainable dependency and needed more reliable connections.
The Western alliance is proving to be unfulfilled, even as Putin dreams that this conflict would drive more wedges into it. The long-stalled joint French-German project for a next- generation jet fighter at the heart of the Future Combat Air System was beginning to move forward after word began to get around on Monday.
He said that despite Russia threatening nuclear weapons, there has been no change in Russia’s nuclear posture.
Ukrenergo stated on Friday that more than half the country’s energy capacity was lost due to Russian strikes.
The company said that the nuclear reactor had been turned back on, but were still not connected to the national grid.
In the southern region of Mykolaiv, the military administrator, Vitaliy Kim, also said the nuclear plant in his area has been cut from the grid, leading to a risky shutdown of the reactors there.
Ukrainian officials stress that the power cuts have the cascading effect of turning off the heat and water in many cases. Adding to the problems is the fact that the water in pipes could freeze.
In Moldova, President Maia Sandu wrote on Facebook, “We can’t trust a regime that leaves us in the dark and cold, that purposely kills people for the sake of keeping other peoples poor and humble.”
Zelenskyy’s speech at the Kremlin: “Why is not providing water to the Ukrainian people in the Donetsk area?”
Ukraine is scrambling to prepare for the winter. In a Tuesday night video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there are now 4,000 centers to take care of civilians if there are extended power cuts.
He said they’ll provide heat, water, phone charging and internet access. Many will be in schools and government buildings.
He told the group of soldiers receiving the awards that they had received a glass of champagne.
Russia said that an airfield in the country’s northwest, which is near the border with Ukraine, was attacked by drones. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has offered no comment on recent explosions, including in Kursk, which are deep within Russia. The targets aren’t within the country’s declared drones.
In his Kremlin appearance, he continued to say “who is not delivering water to the people in the Donetsk area?” Not supplying water to a city of million is an act of genocide.”
He ended his apparent off-the-cuff comments by claiming there is no mention of the water situation. Everyone has refrained from saying anything about it. At all! He said it was complete silence.
The Russian military attack on Donetsk last October: Putin and the Ukrainian air defense system are working as usual in the outskirts of Odesa
Donetsk has been held by Russian-backed separatists for eight years and it is one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow attempted to annex in October, in violation of international law.
President Putin made comments specifically addressing the Russian military’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure Thursday while clutching a glass of champagne.
He spoke to the group of soldiers receiving the awards. Yes, he said, we are doing it. But who started it?”
Putin drove a car across the structure that he himself opened last year after being shown how to fix it.
“The pace of restoration [to household consumers] is slowed down by difficult weather conditions,” it said, with the damage “made worse by the freezing and rupture of wires in distribution networks.”
A top Ukrainian official said the attacks on the country’s energy grid amount to genocide. The Prosecutor-General of Ukranian made a remark to the BBC last month.
People, civilians, and military personnel were having dinner at the recreation center destroyed by the missile attack on Melitopol, said Russia’s acting governor.
“The Russian military is settling in local houses they seized, schools and kindergartens. Military equipment is stationed in residential areas,” Federov said in November.
Alexei Kulemzin, head of the Russian-backed city administration, said Ukraine launched 20 Grad missiles around 5:54 a.m. local time Sunday in the direction of the Voroshilovsky and Kalininsky districts.
There were also reports of explosions in Sevastopol, the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet; at a Russian military barracks in Sovietske; and in Hvardiiske, Dzhankoi and Nyzhniohirskyi
Sergey Aksenov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea, said on Telegram: “The air defense system worked over Simferopol. All services are working as usual.
The news comes amid reports that 1.5 million people in the Odesa region of Ukraine have been left without power following strikes by Iranian-made drones.
Emergency power shortages had been rolled out in Odesa as a result of the missile attacks. DTEK, a utility company, said that they were introduced because of the threat of missile attacks.
“This is the true attitude of Russia towards Odesa, towards Odesa residents – deliberate bullying, deliberate attempt to bring disaster to the city,” Zelensky added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks out against missile attacks and a ban on the Russian Orthodox Church in Paris and Norway
Ukraine on Saturday received “a new support package from Norway in the amount of $100 million” that will be used “precisely for the restoration of our energy system after these Russian strikes,” Zelensky added.
Mr. Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces shot down ten of the drones that were being used by Russian forces. It was not immediately possible to verify his tally.
The repeated assaults on the plants and equipment that Ukrainians rely on for heat and light have drawn condemnation from world leaders, and thrust Ukraine into a grim cycle in which crews hurry to restore power only to have it knocked out again.
“The power system is now, to put it mildly, very far from a normal state — there is an acute shortage in the system,” he said, urging people to reduce their power use to put less strain on the battered power grid.
“It must be understood: Even if there are no heavy missile strikes, this does not mean that there are no problems,” he continued. There are missile attacks, drone attacks almost every day in different regions. Energy facilities are often hit.
Ukrainian authorities have been stepping up raids on churches accused of links with Moscow, and many are watching to see if President Zelenskyy follows through on his threat of a ban on the Russian Orthodox Church.
French President Emmanuel Macron hosts European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store for a working dinner Monday in Paris.
Also in France, on Tuesday, the country is set to co-host a conference with Ukraine in support of Ukrainians through the winter, with a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
NPR News: The case of Viktor Bout and the U.S. Warped with the Crime Against Russia During Proton-Proton Interaction
The US basketball player, who was held in Russian jail for 10 months, was freed on December 8. Her release came in exchange for the U.S. handing over convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The couple is back in the U.S. According to a report, Bout joined an ultranationalist party.
Russian oil revenue was targeted by new measures. A European Union embargo on Russian oil imports and a Russian oil price cap are included.
Russian forces turned the city of Bakhmut into burned ruins, Zelenskyy said. Fighting has been fierce there as Russia attempts to advance in the city in the eastern Donbas region.
It was 2019. And the successful TV comedian turned commander in chief had traveled to Paris for a summit to negotiate a peace deal with Putin. Zelensky walked away giving few concessions despite the doubts of many.
Here, you can read past recaps. For context and more in-depth stories, you can find more of NPR’s coverage here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR’s State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.
U.S. Aid to Ukraine in the Light of Recent Pentagon and Kremlin Embedding Reports: “Disagreement with the Russian Army”
He said that a key in the city had come under fire and that forty rockets had been fired at civilians.
The Kherson military administration said the city had been hit 86 times over the past 24 hours.
A part of the international organization’s rapid response team was one of the victims. During the shelling, they were fatally wounded by fragments of enemy shells.
According to the regional head of the Kherson military administration, the city was completely disconnected from power supplies after the strikes.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said the city “received machinery and generators from the U.S. Government to operate boiler houses and heat supply stations.”
The Energy Security Project, run by USAID, delivered four excavators and over 130 generators, Klitschko said on Telegram. All equipment was free of charge.
Still, he stressed Russia was open for diplomatic solutions, echoing comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days that he wanted an end to the war. Putin’s claim that he is open to negotiating was roundly dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a ruse.
“The Ukrainian side needs to take into account the realities that have developed over all this time,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday in response to Zelensky’s three-step proposal.
“And these realities indicate that the Russian Federation has new subjects,” he said, referring to four areas Russia has claimed to have annexed, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
But news, first reported by CNN, that the US is finalizing plans to send the system to Ukraine triggered a cryptic warning from Russia’s US embassy Wednesday of “unpredictable consequences.”
“Earlier, many experts, including those overseas, questioned the rationality of such a step which would lead to an escalation of the conflict and increase the risk of directly dragging the US army into combat,” Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow.
It takes many people and a lot of training to operate the system, which makes it expensive but could help protect the country against Russian attacks like the ones that have left millions without power.
The Pentagon press secretary was asked about the Russian warnings about the system. US aid to Ukranian would not be influenced by those comments, says Gen. Pat Ryder.
“I find it ironic and very telling that officials from a country that brutally attacked its neighbor in an illegal and unprovoked invasion would use words like provocation to describe the systems that are meant to save lives and protect civilians.”
He said that Zelenskyy’s visit shows that the U.S. is fighting a proxy war with Russia.
The video of the installation of a intercontinental missile in the Kaluga region was shared by the Russia’s defense ministry, which is perhaps a subtle message against the deployment of the missiles in the US.
Appearing on Russian state TV this week, commanders of the Russian militia in the DONETSK region suggested they would not be able to defeat NATO in a conventional war.
The United States’ response to the Russian Air Attacks on Ukraine: Old rifles, trenches, fortifications, and border wall reconstruction
Many personnel are required to operate the Patriot missile batteries compared to the smaller air defense systems. The training for Patriot missile batteries normally takes multiple months, a process the United States will now carry out under the pressure of near-daily aerial attacks from Russia.
Zelensky rejected the idea of a land grab by the Ukrainians, in an interview with The Economist published Thursday, he also said that they would not be seeking to regain control of the areas that were under Russian control.
NATO still wants to provide aid to Ukraine and make sure that NATO doesn’t get involved in the war there, according to the alliance’s secretary general.
Old rifle. CNN’s Ellie Kaufman and Liebermann reported earlier this week on a US military official who says Russian forces have had to resort to 40-year-old artillery ammunition as their supplies of new ammo are “rapidly dwindling.”
“You load the ammunition and you cross your fingers and hope it’s gonna fire or when it lands that it’s gonna explode,” said the official, speaking to reporters.
The larger year end spending bill includes money for Ukraine and a increase in US defense spending, which will help replenish American weapons and ammunition stocks.
In the trenches. CNN’s Will Ripley reported on the construction of trenches and fortifications along Ukraine’s border with Europe’s newest country, where there is growing concern about Russia again assembling troops. Ripley talks to a sewing machine repairman turned tank driver.
The Engels air base, which is home to Russia’s long-range, nuclear-capable bombers, was targeted in a drone attack in early December, according to the Kremlin, slightly damaging two planes. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
During the air attacks on Ukranian on Friday, an aircraft with a Kinzal hypersonic missile was seen in the sky overBelarus. But it was not clear from their statement whether a Kinzal was used in the attacks.
Kirby said that Russia’s defense industrial base is being taxed. “We know they’re having trouble keeping up with that pace. We know that the Russian President is having trouble getting the right types of weapons.
He declined to announce any details on the next security assistance package for Ukraine, but said that there “will be another one” and that additional air defense capabilities should be expected.
Zelensky: From Paris to Russia in the midst of a quid pro quo, in the wake of the 2019 Russian presidential election
In Paris at the time, I witnessed how Zelensky pulled up to the Élysée Palace in a modest Renault, while Putin motored in with an ostentatious armored limousine. (The host, French President Emmanuel Macron, hugged Putin but chose only to shake hands with Zelensky).
Zelensky’s physical appearance in Washington is surely designed to remind Republicans of the urgency of Ukraine’s fight and how a defeat for Kyiv would lead Moscow’s nuclear-backed brutality right to the doorstep of NATO, and then likely drag the US into a boots-on-the ground war with Russia.
Western backers could find it hard to trust someone who fails to demonstrate further progress on the battlefield with billions of dollars of military kit. But capitulation to Russia would be a political death sentence.
As a former reality TV star turned unexpected president, he is the epitome of how Putin has turned ordinary Ukrainians into wartime heroes.
After being bullied by someone like Putin, he knew what he had to do and it was just hisgut feeling, said Yevhen Hlibovytsky.
This is the leader who when offered a ride from the US to Russia joked, “I need bullets not a ride.”
It is perhaps easy to forget that Zelensky honed his political muscles earlier in his career standing up to another bully in 2019 – then-US President Donald Trump, who tried to bamboozle the novice politician in the quid pro quo scandal.
It’s been a long while since Zelensky thanked his supporters at a campaign event in a renovated nightclub, amidst the fog of war. Standing on stage among the fluttering confetti, he looked in a state of disbelief at having defeated incumbent veteran politician Petro Poroshenko.
The war appears to have turned his ratings around. Just days after the invasion, Zelensky’s ratings approval surged to 90%, and remain high to this day. Zelensky was rated very high by Americans for his handling of international affairs ahead of the US President.
The people in his bubble were from his previous career as a TV comedian. Even in the midst of the war, a press conference held on the platform of a Kyiv metro station in April featured perfect lighting and curated camera angles to emphasize a wartime setting.
As for his skills as comforter in chief, I remember well the solace his nightly televised addresses brought in the midst of air raid sirens and explosions in Lviv.
Zelensky: Communicating with the World: Towards a Better Balance of Authority and Accessibility in an Age of Internet Science and Technology
Zelensky is projecting confidence and competence in a modern way when he wears hoodies and t-shirts, because they are seen as being more appropriate for Silicon Valley than suits.
She said that he is more comfortable as an actor than Putin, and as a digital native. Zelensky is doing a better job of balancing authority with accessibility, so I think both of them want to come across as personable.
Zelenska knows how to communicate effectively in international fora, due to how she traveled to where her husband can’t. King Charles met with her at the refugee assistance center at the Holy Family Cathedral in London. (Curiously, TIME magazine did not include Zelenska on the cover montage and gave only a passing reference in the supporting text).
Despite the strong tailwinds at Zelensky’s back, there are subtle signs that his international influence could be dwindling. Zelensky argued that the price cap should be set at $30 in order to hurt the Kremlin, but the G7 disagreed and imposed a price cap of $60 a barrel.
As Zelensky said in a recent nightly video address: “No matter what the aggressor intends to do, when the world is truly united, it is then the world, not the aggressor, determines how events develop.”
The Iranian-made, self-detonating Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 drones were launched from the “eastern coast of the Sea of Azov,” the Air Force said in a statement on Facebook.
The Patriot Air Defense System: A Mission to Kyiv and a Campaign to Help Ukraine Overcome Russia’s War-Breaking Campaign
“I thank everyone who carries out these repair works in any weather and around the clock,” Zelensky said. “It is not easy, it is difficult, but I am sure: we will pull through together, and Russia’s aggression will fail.”
As the war in eastern and southern Ukraine persists, Ukrainians far from the frontlines seek some semblance of normal life ahead of Christmas.
An artificial Christmas tree in the center of Kyiv was installed and decorated over the weekend, set to be illuminated with “energy-saving garlands” that will be powered by a generator at specific times, the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
There are about 1,000 blue and yellow balls and white doves in Sophia Square. Some flags will be placed at the bottom.
He said there are letters written to St. Nicholas by Ukrainian children who want air defense, for weapons, for victory, for all Ukrainians.
There are two key headline deliverables: first, the Patriot missile systems. Complex, accurate, and expensive, they have been described as the US’s “gold standard” of air defense. NATO requires personnel who operate them to be properly trained, as they are almost 100 in a battalion.
More weapons ensure that Ukraine hits its targets, and that no civilians remain nearby. And it means Ukraine does not go through the hundreds or thousands of shells Russia appears to burn through as it blanket bombards areas it wants to capture.
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday it would provide an additional $1.85 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, including, for the first time, a Patriot Air Defense System. It’s one of the most advanced and expensive defense systems the U.S. has supplied since the start of the war.
The Challenge of Russia in the Battle for Minds of the World: The Case for a Better Defense of NATO and the Cold War in Ukraine
But Moscow is struggling to equip and rally its conventional forces, and, with the exception of its nuclear forces, appears to be running out of new cards to play. China and India have joined the West in open statements against the use of nuclear force, which has made that option even less likely.
Western analysts have noted Russia has grumbled consistently about these deliveries, but been relatively muted in its practical response to the crossing of what, as recently as January, might have been considered “red lines.”
Whatever the eventual truth of the matter, Biden wants Putin to hear that billions of dollars are being spent on military aid and that the European Union will be involved in pushing Russia to do more.
The remnants of the Trumpist “America First” elements of that party have echoed doubts about how much aid the US should really be sending to the edges of eastern Europe.
The costs for the slow defeat of Russia in this dark and lengthy conflict is light for Washington, given it’s massive defense budget.
Zelensky spoke from the US Capitol, expressing gratitude for American aid in fighting Russian aggression and asking for more.
The speech made reference to the struggle of Ukrainian people and to the fact that we would like to be warm in our homes for Christmas and to know that all the families in other parts of the world are on the front lines.
Clinton, who previously met Russian President Vladimir Putin as US secretary of state, said the leader was “probably impossible to actually predict,” as the war turns in Ukraine’s favor and his popularity fades at home.
Clinton said that the bodies of Russian conscripts would be thrown into the fight in Ukraine if Putin decided to do so.
On Wednesday evening after returning from a bloody front line in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky went to the US House floor in his signature green military wear to strengthen his supply line.
On the dais where heads of state usually sport suits, Zelensky embraced the look of a warrior as he used confident English to claim “joint victory” in what he said was the defeat of Russia in the “battle for minds of the world.”
The speech was a clear plea to Republican lawmakers, who will be in charge of the House in January, to stick with Ukraine.
Congress was scheduled to vote this week on a year-long spending bill that includes emergency assistance to NATO allies and Ukraine, as well as other items.
Wednesday’s White House reception could not have been the one Zelensky envisioned years ago when he faced then-President Donald Trump’s call for him to investigate Biden in exchange for military aid. And now Zelensky was thanking Americans for their help against Russia in the very chamber where Trump was impeached three years ago for pressuring Zelensky.
Anna Kovalchuk said that she wouldn’t let the Russians ruin her celebrations. I am worried that the holiday will need to be spent in the dark if there is no electricity on New Year’s Eve. She told CNN that she prepared herself for the possibility of a power failure so that it wouldn’t stop her.
The Battle of the Bulge Revisited: The U.S. Army’s First Battle in the Second World War, and the Last Rest of the Cold War
The Battle of the Bulge, which took place in World War II when the US troops were surrounded in the snow, was returned to US military history Wednesday.
Zelensky said that Ukrainian soldiers are doing the same thing as the brave American soldiers did when they fought off Hitler’s forces during the Christmas of 1944.
The historian Doris Kearns Goodwin compared Zelensky’s address to one given by Winston Churchill on Boxing Day in 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
“He’s already established in the American people’s mind we’re in this together, but then pointing out that they’ll do the fighting for us – ‘just give us the tools and we will finish the job.’ That is what it was, said Kearns Goodwin to Anderson Cooper.
An address to congress is a platform for a foreign president to speak to a congress. It is in contrast to Putin who canceled his yearly press conference.
Zelensky’s appearance was facilitated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as one of her final acts before relinquishing the speaker’s gavel. Earlier this year she took a surprise visit of her own to meet with Zelensky in Kyiv.
Zelensky said “Russian leader is hiding behind the troops, behind missiles, behind the walls of his residences and palaces” and behind his people. He hides behind you, and he burns your future. Zelensky said that no one would ever forgive you for terror.
“It was very important for him (Putin) and everyone else to see that President Zelensky and I are united, two countries together, to make sure he cannot succeed,” Biden said, standing alongside Zelensky at the White House during their joint news conference.
It is clear to Zelensky and Biden, that the time is right for the US to get back to basics in regards to Russia’s war, as the war drags on with no end in sight.
Petraeus added it was substantive because of the new money pledged to Ukraine both at the White House and in a larger $1.7 trillion spending bill lawmakers need to pass before Friday.
A Cold War Between Ukraine and the West: What Do We Expect to Learn from McCarthy’s Letters to the House Appropriate Speaker
House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who wants to be House speaker and needs votes from Ukraine-skeptical Republicans to get there next month, did meet with Zelensky and the other three top congressional leaders.
According to recent polling, a majority of Americans are behind the government in Ukraine, while the share of Americans that think the US should support them for as long as it takes has dropped. Only a third of Republicans were in favor of indefinite support.
The only Ukrainian-born member of Congress, Indiana GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz, has expressed skepticism about some of the aid to Ukraine and concerns about corruption in Zelensky’s administration.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that no matter how much military support the West provides to the Ukrainian government, “they will achieve nothing.”
Taking into account the situation on the ground and actual realities, the tasks set by the leadership of our country will be fulfilled, according to Zakharova.
Peskov added that “there were no real calls for peace.” Zelensky stressed that “we need peace” during his address to the US Congress on Wednesday.
The US is in direct fighting with the last Ukrainian against Russia, according to Peskov.
The Kremlin quickly criticized the trip by the Ukrainian President as he returned from Washington, D.C.
This is not the first time Russia has accused Western nations of turning the conflict into a proxy war by supplying Ukraine with weapons. (Iran has acknowledged providing military drones to Russia.)
The Russian public mostly buys that line from the Kremlin, according to a Russian history professor.
“You could say that the majority of Russian people, although they are weary of the conflict, they still see this as an existential struggle between Russia and the West in which Ukraine is being played for a pawn,” he tells NPR’s Morning Edition.
Zelenskyy and Ukraine want a “just peace” and the U.S. has been helping the country defend itself against Russian aggression, says Sloat.
Last week, Moscow warned the U.S. that it would see this as another “provocative” move and that this might prompt a Russian reprisal.
She said that the Ukrainian people would be helped by a defensive weapons system called “patriotics” which would help the country defend itself from Russia. “If Russia doesn’t want their missiles shot down, Russia should stop sending them into Ukraine.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukrainians to have “patience and faith” in a defiant Christmas address after a deadly wave of Russian strikes pounded the southern city of Kherson.
He urged the nation to stand firm in the face of a grim winter of energy blackouts, the absence of loved ones and the ever-present threat of Russian attacks.
There are empty chairs around it. The houses and streets can’t be as bright. And Christmas bells can ring not so loudly and inspiringly. Through air raid sirens, or even worse – gunshots and explosions.”
He said that Ukraine had been resisting evil forces for three hundred days and eight years, however, “in this battle, we have another powerful and effective weapon. The spirit and consciousness have a hammer and sword. The wisdom of God. Courage and bravery. The virtues that incline us to do good and overcome evil.
If communication and the internet are down, the country will sing Christmas carols louder than a generator, and hear the greetings of family and friends, even if the power isn’t on.
We will find each other to hug each other tightly in darkness. And if there is no heat, we will give a big hug to warm each other.”
Zelensky concluded: “We will celebrate our holidays! As always. We will smile and be happy. As always. The difference is one. We will not sit around and wait for something. After all, we create it ourselves.”
The Orthodox Christian customs of Christmas on January 7 acknowledge the birth of Jesus and have been practiced in Ukraine for many years.
Investigating drone attacks in Saratov Oblast: a “consequence of what Russia is doing,” said Deputy Governor Roman Busargin
He wrote on Telegram that they are not military facilities. This isn’t a war according to the rules. It is terror, it is killing for pleasure.
Russian state news agencies reported that three Russian servicemen were killed Monday when the Ukrainian drone they were riding was shot down as it approached the airfield in Saratov Oblast.
Law enforcement agencies are now investigating the incident at the airfield, said Saratov Oblast Governor Roman Busargin on Monday. Reports of an explosion in the city came after the comments posted on his official Telegram channel.
He said that there were no emergencies in the residential areas and that no infrastructure was damaged. He said that the government would provide assistance to the families of the servicemen.
In comments Monday, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat did not claim direct responsibility for the drone, but did suggest the attack was the “consequence of what Russia is doing.”
“If the Russians thought that the war would not affect anyone in the deep rear (of Russia) or anywhere else, they were deeply mistaken. Therefore, as we see, such things are happening more and more often, and let’s hope that this will only benefit Ukraine,” said Ihnat.
“This reminds of the events of December 5, so there may be some deja vu, some repetition of this situation, after which [the Russians] launched a massive missile strike,” the spokesperson said. We should take it into account in our plans and never forget to go to the shelter.
Earlier this month, CCTV footage appeared to show an explosion lighting up the sky in Engels. Governor Busargin assured the public that no civilian infrastructure was damaged and that any information about incidents at military facilities was being looked at by law enforcement agencies.
Moscow is running low on its cruise missile stock, but that’s not going to happen without a Russian air force: Ukrainian President and Chief Minister Sergei Lavrov
Since some cruise missiles are launched from bombers that fly from the airfields hit in the attacks, the strikes could potentially destroy the missiles on the ground at the Russian airfields before they can be deployed.
Mr. Zagorodnyuk, clarifying that he did not speak for the government and could not confirm the strikes, added: “You cannot consider, this person will attack you because you are fighting back. There isn’t any reason not to try to do this.
It is almost impossible to shoot down the Kinzhal, a hypersonic weapon that can reach targets in minutes, and Mr. Budanov said that it is in even shorter supply.
The lead for disaster response in the Ukrainian president’s office, said that several buildings in the capital were destroyed.
An explosion near a playground rattled the windows of nearby homes. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko urged residents to charge their electronic devices and fill water containers in case of shortages.
Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 21 cruise missiles near Odesa, said Maksym Marchenko, the regional administrator for that region along the Black Sea. But successful missile strikes left the city without electricity or water.
Strikes of the scale like the one launched Thursday’s have become less frequent since they began Oct. 10. Earlier this week Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, said that’s because Russia is running low on its stock of cruise missiles.
In comments to the Russian media, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would continue to pursue its objectives with perseverance and patience.
Russia and the Crimes of Crime: UAV Attacks on the Donetsk Region During the Fourth Ukrainian Military Collisions
Halyna Hladka stocked up on water so she could have breakfast for her family as soon as the sirens sounded in the capital. They heard the sounds of explosions over the course of two hours. She told CNN that she thought they were close to her area, but they turned out to be air defense. “Not a single attack will cancel the fact that we will celebrate the new year with the family.”
Hryn said, “After the sirens went off, life in the capital returned to normal, with my neighbors and their child going to the cinema on time.” Others continued with holiday plans despite the fact that parents and people went to work.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has claimed that a wave of missile attacks against Ukraine on Thursday, believed to be one of the biggest barrages yet in the war, “neutralized’” all their assigned targets.
Ukrainian officials have said that both Ukrainian and Russian forces are suffering significant losses in Donetsk. CNN could not confirm Russia’s claims.
But in spite of Russia’s purported victories on the battlefield, the ministry did not claim any territorial advances against Ukrainian forces, adding credibility to reports that the two sides are locked in a stalemate.
Zelensky switched to speaking Russian in his nightly address on Saturday to send a message to the Kremlin and Russian citizens, as Moscow launched a series of deadly strikes that swept several regions of Ukraine ahead of New Year.
Shmyhal said on Telegram that Moscow intends to leave the nation in the dark for the new year, causing as much damage as possible.
Three people died and three more were wounded in the eastern Ukrainian region, according to a deputy head of the president’s office.
One person was wounded in the Zaporizhzhia region. Two people were killed and one was wounded in the region. Two people were wounded in the Kherson region, while one died in the Chernihiv region.
“26 of the enemy’s air strikes were on civilian infrastructure. There were 10 Shahed-136 UAVs used by the occupants, all of which were shot down. In addition, the enemy made 80 attacks from multiple rocket launchers, civilian settlements were also hit,” the General Staff said in its latest operational update.
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It said that Russia “continues to conduct offensive actions at the Lyman and Bakhmut directions and is trying to improve the tactical situation at the Kupiansk and Avdiivka directions.”
“The municipal ‘life support system’ of the capital is operating normally. 30% of consumers do not have electricity. Due to emergency shutdowns,” he said on Telegram.
Klitschko also reported that the restrictions were applied to check the open section of the red metro line in the city “for the presence of remnants of missile debris.”
I really want to win and have more bright impressions in the future. I miss it a lot. I also want to travel and open borders. And I also think about personal and professional growth, because one should not stand still. I have to develop and work for the benefit of the country,” said Alyona Bogulska, a 29-year-old financier.
“This year, it’s a symbol, not that it’s a small victory, but a symbol that we survived the year,” said Tatiana Tkachuk, a 43-year-old pharmacy employee.
“On New Year’s Eve, cities should be covered by wave of celebration, joy and hope. Zelenska said that Ukrainian cities are again covered by missile wave from Russia.
Standing in darkness with a Ukrainian flag rippling gently in the breeze behind him, Mr. Zelensky recounted in a videotaped speech many notable moments from the war — including the attack on a maternity hospital, the intense fighting at the Azovstal steel plant, the destruction of a Russian bridge to Crimea, the retaking of Kherson, the sinking of a Russian flagship — as the video cut to footage that underscored his words.
“This year has struck our hearts,” he said, according to a translated transcript posted on his official website. We have cried out all the tears. All the prayers have been yelled. There are 311 days. Every moment we have something to say.
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All Ukrainians — those working, attending schools or “just learning to walk” — are participating in Ukraine’s defense, Mr. Zelensky said. It is not the right way to think of it, as it could possibly be a year of losses.
In the last week the world rallied around Ukraine, from foreign cities and their halls of government to the top of the search results.