Volodymyr Zelensky says the war in Ukraine would not continue if Vladimir Putin died
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia still had enough missiles to launch several more massive strikes like the one it launched earlier in the day against Ukraine’s energy system.
Three people were killed today after Russia launched more than 70 missiles at energy infrastructure targets, Ukrainian officials said.
Zelensky used his evening address to warn that Vladimir Putin had the means to order wave after wave of similar strikes.
But he added: “Whatever the rocket worshipers in Moscow count on, it still won’t change the balance of power in this war.”
Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, is now without electricity, water and heating after the bombing. At least 60 missile attacks swept the country on Friday morning.
Many people rushed to shelters during the morning rush hour to protect themselves from the latest major attack on vital infrastructure since October, which a Kyiv official described as one of the biggest missile barrages since Russia invaded in February.
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Brittney Griner says she will help free other Americans from Russia
American basketball star Brittney Griner, who on Friday left an Army medical center where she had been recuperating after being released from a Russian penal colony as part of a prisoner exchange, said that he would work to help bring home other detained Americans and that he planned to resume it. WNBA career
Ms. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star, left Brooke Army Medical Center a week after arriving at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, CNN reported.
“The last 10 months have been a battle at every moment. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love of so many of you that kept me going,” she said in her first public statement since returning to the United States.
“President Biden, you brought me home, and I know you’re committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home, too,” he said, referring to the former U.S. Marine who is still being held in Russia. “I will use my platform to do everything I can to help you.”
Ms Griner arrived at the medical center last Friday after US officials secured her freedom from Russia in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Ms. Griner, 32, was arrested on February 17 at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vaporizer cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
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Russia accuses Ukraine of killing two civilians in the Luhansk attacks
Officials based in Russia claimed that Ukrainian shelling had killed civilians in two parts of the occupied territory.
Eleven people were killed, 20 wounded and another 20 missing in the village of Lantrativka near the border with Russia in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, the Russian state news agency said TASS, citing emergency services.
The region’s Russian-installed governor, Leonid Pasechnik, called the attack “barbaric”.
The head of a Russian “people’s militia” in Luhansk said a civilian had been killed by Ukrainian shelling in the town of Svatove, about 40 miles to the south.
The Independent could not immediately verify the latest accounts from the battlefield, but reported three explosions in the snow-covered capital Kyiv and smoke billowing over the city.
Ukrainian officials accused Russia of killing at least three people in strikes in several cities today.
Liam James December 16, 2022 8:40 pm
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The Ministry of Defense says Russia is preparing to plan a World War II-style entrenchment
Britain’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has previously said that Russia appears to be moving towards World War II-style entrenchment.
The Defense Ministry analysis focused on Moscow’s recent efforts to build “main defensive lines,” which it says are “another illustration of Russia’s reversion to positional warfare that has been largely abandoned measure by most modern Western militaries in recent decades.”
He added that Russia had “traditional entrenchment military plans, largely unchanged since World War II.”
A recent analysis of satellite imagery in Ukraine by The New York Times found Russian trenches near Ukraine’s front lines, including some built to defend captured cities.
Ukraine and its allies are sensing changes in Russia’s war game. Earlier, a senior Ukrainian general said Kyiv was preparing for Moscow to order a new assault from the north in the early months of 2023.
Liam James December 16, 2022 8:05 pm
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Canadian bonds to finance Ukrainian loans
Canada will lend Ukraine half a billion dollars raised through what Ottawa said was a world-first plan to issue bonds specifically to raise money for the government’s support program.
The loan, which represents more than a fifth of the total lent to Kyiv since Russia’s invasion in February, was financed by the sale of bonds costing C$100 (£60) or more to Canadians, investors, institutions and other buyers. the government said in a statement.
Individual Canadians bought C$50 million (£30 million) worth of the bonds since they were issued on Nov. 29, he added.
Supporting Ukraine “means ensuring the Ukrainian government has the resources to continue providing essential services to Ukrainians this winter,” said Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, adding that she hopes other countries will ‘inspire to offer these bonds. .
Canada has also sent more than C$1 billion in aid.
Liam James December 16, 2022 7:38 p.m
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TikTok to cut all Russian staff
Social media company TikTok said on Friday it would reduce the number of Russian staff after the company shut down key services for Russian users earlier this year.
Chinese-owned video app TikTok suspended live streaming and new uploads in Russia after Moscow introduced strict censorship of new media following the invasion of Ukraine in February.
“We’ve had to make a number of decisions this year regarding our service in Russia, which now unfortunately includes reducing our Russia-based workforce,” the company said in a statement.
“We will continue to assess the evolving circumstances in Russia to determine when we could fully resume our services with safety as our top priority,” he said.
Liam James December 16, 2022 7:07 p.m
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Putin has enough missiles for more massive attacks, Zelensky warns
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia still had enough missiles to launch several more massive strikes like the one it launched earlier in the day against Ukraine’s energy system.
Officials in Kyiv said three people were killed today after Russia launched 76 missiles at cities including Kyiv and Kharkiv.
“Whatever the rocket worshipers in Moscow count on, it still won’t change the balance of power in this war,” he said in a video address.
“They still have enough missiles for several massive strikes. We, on the other hand, have enough determination and confidence in ourselves to come back to our own after these strikes,” he said.
Liam James December 16, 2022 6:39 p.m
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Ukraine is preparing for Russia to try again to invade from the north, a top commander has said.
Major General Andrii Kovalchuk, one of Ukraine’s most senior military officers, told Sky News that Vladimir Putin could even use the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, February 24, 2023, to order troops across the border from Belarus.
Ukraine successfully repelled attacks on this front in the first months of the war, prompting the Kremlin to withdraw and focus on eastern and southern Ukraine.
“We are considering a possible offensive from Belarus at the end of February, maybe later,” said Major General Kovalchuk, speaking at an undisclosed location in southern Ukraine.
“We are preparing for it. We are investigating. Let’s see where they accumulate forces and resources. We are getting ready.”
Kovalchuk during the interview
(Sky News)
Liam James December 16, 2022 6:25 p.m
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Ukraine says it needs thousands more generators to get through the winter
Ukrainian small and medium-sized companies have imported nearly half a million power generators, but the country needs thousands more that are bigger and stronger to get through the winter, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
Ukraine has suffered increasing blackouts and blackouts due to Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure since October.
Today’s strikes again focused on power production, with operator Ukrenergo warning that it would take longer to restore power than after previous strikes.
“Small and medium-sized Ukrainian entrepreneurs have already imported 500,000 low-power generators. But to get through the winter we will need about 17,000 industrial and large generation units,” Shmyhal told a government meeting.
“We hope to cover some of these needs with the help of our partners,” he said.
An electric generator outside a shop in the center of Odesa
(AFP/Getty)
A woman crosses the street during the snowfall, as power cuts continue in Kyiv
(AP)
Liam James December 16, 2022 5:45 pm
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Three dead, one child missing under rubble in Kryvyi Rih – Officials
The latest from Kryvyi Rih, according to regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko:
- Three people died in a strike at a residential building: a 64-year-old woman and a young couple
- The child remains under the rubble
- Thirteen people injured, including four children, all of them in hospital
Associated Press reporters confirmed damage to the residential building.
(Valentyn Reznichenko)
(Valentyn Reznichenko)
Firefighters work to put out a fire at the strike site
(AP)
Liam James December 16, 2022 5:25 pm
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Clowns Without Borders: Send children’s entertainers to support Ukrainian children
A children’s charity is sending clowns to Europe to provide ’emotional first aid’ to young Ukrainian refugees.
Clowns Without Borders UK works in war and disaster zones to provide “critical emotions…