The Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Cricket Warrior]

Key Russian air defence system hit in Ukraine Atacms strike

Russia has made a rare admission, saying that a key air defence system and an air base in the Kursk region were hit by Ukraine with US-supplied Atacms missiles.

The defence ministry statement, which threatened retaliation, came a day after Ukraine said it had hit targets in the region.

Meanwhile Ukraine's air force said Russia launched a record 188 drones in a single attack on Monday night, damaging critical infrastructure.

Tensions have been high since the US reportedly allowed Ukraine to use Atacms missiles on targets inside Russia last week, in response to Russia deploying North Korean troops.

Key Russian air defence system hit in Ukraine Atacms strike

In a rare admission, Russia's defence ministry says its equivalent of the US Patriot system was damaged.

www.bbc.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

South Koreans oppose arms for Ukraine as envoy visits

South Koreans remain widely opposed to directly supplying arms to Ukraine, recent polls show, despite renewed international requests from Kyiv and allied capitals after North Korean troops were reported to be helping Russia.

Ukraine has asked Seoul for a range of weapons and Seoul has said it could consider such aid, depending on future steps by Russia and North Korea.

A Ukrainian delegation led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov met South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday, Yoon's office said, amid media reports that the visit aimed to seek arms support.

"No to the South Korean government planning arms supply to Ukraine," read a banner held by a small group of protesters gathered outside Yoon's office in the capital.

Both sides agreed to keep up sharing of information on North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia as well as the exchange of technology and weapons between the two, Yoon's office said in a statement.

The delegation also met Seoul's national security advisor Shin Won-sik and defence minister Kim Yong-hyun and discussed cooperation between Seoul and Kyiv.

https://www.reuters.com/world/south-koreans-remain-opposed-sending-arms-ukraine-2024-11-27/

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Nuclear attack unlikely despite Putin's warnings, US intelligence says

The U.S. decision to allow Ukraine to fire American weapons deeper into Russia has not increased the risk of a nuclear attack, which is unlikely, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's increasingly bellicose statements, five sources familiar with U.S. intelligence told Reuters.

But Russia is likely to expand a campaign of sabotage against European targets to increase pressure on the West over its support for Kyiv, said two senior officials, a lawmaker and two congressional aides briefed on the matter.

A series of intelligence assessments over the past seven months have concluded nuclear escalation was unlikely to result from a decision to loosen restrictions on Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons. That view has not changed following President Joe Biden's changed U.S. stance this month on weapons, said the sources, who were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive intelligence.

"The assessments were consistent: The ATACMs weren’t going to change Russia’s nuclear calculus," said one congressional aide briefed on the intelligence, referring to American missiles with a range of up to 190 miles (306 km).

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nuclear-attack-unlikely-despite-putins-warnings-us-intelligence-says-2024-11-27/

 

[BouncerGuy]

'Massive strike' on Ukraine's energy sector, says minister

Russia has launched a "massive strike" on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the country's energy minister said, as explosions were reported in several cities.

Herman Halushchenko said on Facebook that attacks on energy facilities were "taking place all over Ukraine" and emergency power outages had been introduced, urging people to take shelter.

Early on Thursday, the Ukrainian air force issued a nationwide air raid warning "due to the threat of missile danger".

Recent days have seen Russia carry out some 1,500 air strikes in Ukraine, hitting around half the country's regions, according to authorities.

The air force issued further warnings of rockets heading towards numerous regions around the country, including Kyiv, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Kropyvnytskyi, Balta, and Mykolaiv.

The mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, said there was shelling of a civilian area in the city, while the mayor of Lutsk, Ihor Polishchuk, said multiple explosions had been heard and electricity was out in part of the city.

Local media outlet Zerkalo Tyzhnya reported that explosions had been heard in the key port city of Odesa, while regional governor Oleg Kiper urged residents to stay somewhere safe.

Authorities in the regions of Sumy and Volyn also reported strikes.

BBC

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Russia threatens Europe with strikes while gnawing at Ukraine’s east

The United States on Tuesday provided the first official confirmation that its long-range Army Tactical Missiles (ATACMS) were in use in Russia, as Europe absorbed the ramifications of Russia’s retaliatory response with an intermediate ballistic missile that could strike “anywhere in Europe”.

As the question of strategic escalation swirled around NATO capitals and Moscow, Russian forces continued a dogged advance through Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, seizing more villages.

“Right now, they are able to use ATACMS to defend themselves, you know, in an immediate-need basis,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “And right now, you know, understandably, that’s taking place in and around Kursk, in the Kursk oblast.”

In a change of communications tactics, the Russian Ministry of Defence, too, acknowledged Ukrainian ATACMS strikes.

Moscow authorities have often fudged Ukrainian missile and drone hits, claiming “falling debris” from a destroyed incoming missile has struck infrastructure and inflamed it.

Russia threatens Europe with strikes while gnawing at Ukraine’s east

Moscow threatens retaliation after the US allowed Ukraine to strike Russia, keeping alive its implied nuclear menace.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Putin threatens Ukraine with new missile as Russian barrage hits power grid​

President Vladimir Putin has said 100 drones and 90 missiles were launched at Ukraine over the past two days “in response to strikes deep” inside Russia as he threatened to hit Kyiv with a new missile.

Putin was addressing a meeting of a security alliance of former Soviet countries in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on Thursday after Ukraine said Russian missiles targeted its power infrastructure.

He also addressed Russia’s use of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile last week on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

Putin told the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit that Russia has begun serial production of the nuclear-capable weapon, and the Ministry of Defence was currently selecting more targets in Ukraine for strikes with the new missile.

Those targets could include “decision-making centres” in Kyiv in response to Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons, he added.

In the event of a massive use of the Oreshnik, the force of the strike “will be comparable to nuclear weapons”, he threatened.

Source: Al Jazeera

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Putin threatens Kyiv decision-makers after striking energy grid

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to attack decision-making centres in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with the country's new ballistic missile, Oreshnik.

Putin was speaking hours after Russia launched a “comprehensive” strike on Ukraine’s energy grid overnight, in what he called a response to "continued attacks" using US-supplied Atacms missiles on Russian soil.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that any "Russian blackmail" would be met with a "tough response".

Ukraine used Atacms and UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike inside Russian territory last week for the first time since the full-scale invasion of February 2022, following approval by the Western suppliers, the US, the UK and France.

Putin threatens Kyiv decision-makers after striking energy grid

Russia says it is selecting Ukrainian targets and may hit government offices in the capital.

www.bbc.com

 

[BouncerGuy]

Ukraine fights to keep the lights on as Russia hammers power plants

Amid the monstrous heaps of twisted metal, pools of congealed oil and walls pockmarked by shrapnel, one incongruous detail catches my eye.

Patches of snow. Inside a thermal power station.

With another Ukrainian winter arriving, the vast turbine hall is full of activity. Engineers, dwarfed by the enormous scale of the place, repairing what they can, removing what they can’t, after a recent Russian air strike hit this facility.

For security reasons, we’re not allowed to say where we are or when the visit occurred. Nor can we describe the extent of the damage, or whether the plant is still working.

Russia, we’re told, collects every scrap of information in order to draw up its next target list.

On Thursday, Moscow mounted its second mass attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in less than two weeks.

Ten such attacks this year have placed an enormous burden on the entire energy system.

Before the first of this month’s attacks, on 17 November, Ukraine had already lost 9GW of generation capacity. That’s about half of the power consumed during last winter’s peak heating season.

We’ve been asked not to say if the plant we visited was among the latest targets on Thursday. But like others across the country, this decades-old facility has suffered multiple drone and missile strikes since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022.

There’s evidence of Russia’s destructive intent everywhere.

In one corner of the turbine hall, under a gaping hole in the roof, workers warm their hands over a makeshift brazier.

Huge sheets of plastic have been draped over the machinery to protect it from the elements.

"The conditions are tough," says Oleksandr. We’ve agreed not to identify him further.

"We don’t even have time to restore the main equipment, let alone the roof and walls. Everything gets destroyed again from one strike to the next."

Ukraine’s western allies are trying to help.

On Monday, DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said it had received £89m ($113m) from the European Commission and US government to help restore capacity and protect vital equipment from snow, rain and sub-zero temperatures.

But it’s an epic struggle for the exhausted men tasked with keeping Ukraine’s lights on.

In the control room, shielded from the turbine hall by a wall of sandbags, Dmytro is taking a break.

"Some are defending the frontlines on the battlefield," he tells us. "We have our own energy front to defend."

But while the engineers from DTEK wrestle with the well-nigh impossible task of keeping one step ahead of Russia’s relentless assault, the rest of the country is doing what it’s been doing since the war began: adapting.

With the full-scale invasion’s third winter arriving, city streets are once again buzzing and roaring to the sound of generators small and large. The street lamps may be off, but shops and restaurants are brightly lit.

Diesel fumes hang heavy in the chill winter air.

In tower blocks, where power cuts put lifts out of action and prevent hot water from reaching the upper floors, residents already used to keeping power banks and flashlights to hand are starting to innovate.

Some have invested in batteries and inverters for their homes, which kick in as soon as the power goes off.

In a twenty-five storey block in Kyiv’s Pozniaky neighbourhood, home to around 700 people, residents have clubbed together to install a larger system in the basement, powerful enough to keep a single lift operating and pump hot water to the upper floors.

For Nataliya Andriyko, who lives on the 19th floor with her husband and pets, it’s a blessing.

“It’s a bizarre feeling,” she tells me as we sit in a kitchen lit by a single battery-operated lamp.

“It’s scary how happy I am just to have these basic needs. That I can take the dog downstairs in the lift rather than on foot in the dark. That I have water in the tap.”

After two hard winters, Nataliya is full of praise for her fellow residents.

"We have a great group of people,” she says. "People who are modern, who understand that something can be invented."

"Together, we’re strong."

Dealing with power cuts is a national preoccupation, with people checking their phones to see when the next outage is due and pooling their resources to buy generators and solar panels.

For the makers of the film “Zbory OSBB” (which roughly translates as “Meeting of the Homeowner’s Association”), it’s also fertile ground for comedy.

The film, which premieres early in December, shows a fractious group of residents bickering over the purchase of a generator, as winter approaches.

"When you have more than 10 people and they need to find common ground, it’s always partly funny," says the movie’s writer and producer, Ivan Melashenko.

Some of the ideas, he said, emerged from the fevered conversations in his own apartment building’s group chat.

"It’s always a nightmare, because everybody has their own opinion and it’s impossible to find a solution."

The premise of the movie - how to stay warm when Ukraine’s bitter winter sets in – is hardly the stuff of comedy.

“But when people are starting to have these clashes and conflicts, of course we have all the jokes you can imagine,” Ivan says.

He says audiences aren’t looking for escapism - the war is the stark, inescapable backdrop - but they are looking for positive news.

“It’s impossible to live in such dramatic and stressful conditions for three years without any positive emotions,” he says.

“People need this.”

SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vlg91yz6po

 

[FearlessRoar]

Thousands return to streets of Tbilisi after government suspends EU bid​

Thousands of protesters returned to the streets of Tbilisi on Friday evening to protest against the government's decision to suspend accession talks with the European Union "until the end of 2028".

Demonstrators were seen on shouting "traitors" and holding photographs of journalists who they say were beaten by police overnight.

The previous nights protests saw police use pepper spray and water cannon against demonstrators, with the government saying 43 people were arrested.

Earlier, more than 100 diplomats and civil servants in Georgia signed an open letter saying the government's decision does not align with Georgia's strategic interests.

Defending his decision, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the EU of "blackmail" after EU legislators called for last month's parliamentary elections in Georgia to be re-run. They cited "significant irregularities".

Since 2012, Georgia has been governed by Georgian Dream, a party which critics say has tried to move the country away from the EU and closer to Russia.

The party claimed victory in last month's election but opposition MPs are boycotting the new parliament, alleging fraud, while the country's President Salome Zurabishvili, has called the one-party parliament "unconstitutional".

On Thursday, the European Parliament backed a resolution describing the election as the latest stage in Georgia's "worsening democratic crisis" and saying that the ruling party was "fully responsible".

It expressed particular concern about reports of voter intimidation, vote buying and manipulation, and harassment of observers.

The European Parliament also urged sanctions against Georgia's Prime Minister and other high-level officials including the billionaire founder of the governing party Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Following the resolution, Georgia's Prime Minister said his government had "decided not to bring up the issue of joining the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028".

He said Georgia would still seek EU membership but with “dignity” and on its own terms.

Kobakhidze also lashed out at European politicians for “hurling a cascade of insults” at the Georgian government.

In response, thousands of pro-EU protesters demonstrated outside Georgian Dream offices in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi.

Protesters see the government's U-turn as a betrayal of a national aspiration. The goal of European integration is enshrined in Georgia's constitution.

Police started dispersing the rally at 02:00 local time Friday (22:00 GMT Thursday), using batons, tear gas and water cannons after demonstrators barricaded some streets in Tbilisi.

The protest lasted until 06:00 local time, but further demonstrations are expected later on Friday.

Georgia's interior ministry said protesters resorted to provocations on many occasions, damaging infrastructure and "badly injuring" 32 police officers.

The precise number of injured protesters is unknown, but a member of the opposition group Coalition for Change said one if its members, Nana Malashkhia, had their nose broken.

“During the crackdown, we took shelter in a pharmacy, but the special forces stormed in after us. If it was not for the presence of the media, they might have beaten us to death,” Giorgi Butikashvili told the BBC.

Footage on social media also showed a journalist from the opposition Formula TV station being severely beaten by the police.

Other media representatives wearing clearly marked press labels were also targeted.

On Friday, the EU's ambassador to Georgia called the government's suspension sad and heartbreaking.

Pawel Herczynski said it contradicted the policy of previous governments and the wishes of the vast majority of the population. Public polling has shown more than 80% of Georgians see their country's future as being part of the European Union.

"Georgian Dream didn't win the elections. It staged a coup," 20-year-old Shota Sabashvili told AFP news agency.

"There is no legitimate parliament or government in Georgia. We will not let this self-proclaimed prime minister destroy our European future."

Ana, a student, said Georgian Dream was "going against Georgian people's will and want to drag us back to USSR".

"That will never happen because Georgian people will never let this happen," she told the Associated Press.

Georgia has had official EU candidate status since 2023. However Brussels had already halted the accession process earlier this year over a Russia-style law targeting organisations accused of “pursuing the interests of a foreign power”.

Kobakhidze said Georgia would continue to implement the reforms required for accession and that it still planned to join by 2030, but added that it was "crucial for the EU to respect our national interests and traditional values".

Former Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili told the BBC the country was at an "unprecedented" turning point.

"Since we were independent 30 years ago, we were clearly pro-Western, we were clearly pro-Nato and clearly pro-EU and this was uniting any government that was in place."

But now, he added, there was an effort "by the bunch of people who are controlling power in Tbilisi and the Kremlin to basically bring Georgia as fast as this is possible to Russian orbit".

Adding to the criticism, more than 100 serving diplomats issued an open letter on Friday calling the Georgian government's move to freeze European Union accession talks unconstitutional.

Georgia's ambassador to Bulgaria also resigned in protest. Otar Berdzenishvili said he had over a two-decade career worked extensiely on progressing Georgia's EU integration.

"Our tireless efforts must not be shaken or compromised under any circumstances. No, violence against the free will of peaceful protesters, full solidarity with them."

Georgia protests: Thousands hit streets after government suspends EU bid

The move sparked protests across Georgia as thousands gathered outside the parliament in Tbilisi.

www.bbc.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

NATO to 'Deploy 100,000 Peacekeepers' in Ukraine, Russia Claims​

Russia has claimed that NATO is planning to deploy 100,000 peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of its plan to prepare Kyiv for "revenge."

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) believes several NATO countries will "occupy Ukraine under the guise of deploying a 'peacekeeping contingent' in the country," it said in a press release on Friday.

No evidence has been provided for this claim and earlier this year, then-NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had "no intention of deploying forces in Ukraine."

The SVR said NATO wants to "freeze" the conflict in Ukraine amid the "conditions of the obvious lack of prospects for inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield."

It believes that NATO countries want to train at least a million mobilized Ukrainians and "restore the Ukrainian military-industrial complex."

"The West considers the implementation of such a scenario as an opportunity to restore the combat capability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and thoroughly prepare Kyiv for an attempt at revenge," the SVR said in the release.

"NATO headquarters understands that without providing the Ukrainian Armed Forces with sufficient weapons and ammunition, the expectation that the Ukrainians will be able to conduct high-intensity combat operations over a long period of time is unrealistic," it continued.

The organization argued that the plan to "occupy" Ukraine would be the West's way of "solving these problems."

It came as Russian casualties hit more than 2,000 troops in a single day, Ukraine's defense ministry said Friday morning—breaking a bleak record set only weeks ago.

A post from the ministry on X, formerly Twitter, said that Moscow's forces suffered 2,030 personnel losses between November 28 and 29, the first time it has reported more than 2,000 in a single day.

Russia does not publicize its military losses and analysts are skeptical of casualty reports from both sides.

The previous highest daily casualty count was on November 11, when Russia lost 1,950 troops, Ukraine reported. This came only one day after Kyiv said 1,770 troops had been lost in a day by Moscow, for a total of 3,720 casualties sustained over the two days, breaking grim records two days in a row.

If Ukraine's latest figures are accurate, this would bring Russia's total number of casualties since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to 738,660.

Ukraine also reported that the latest losses bring Russia's casualty total this month to 42,250, making November the deadliest month for the country's troops since the full-scale invasion began.

NATO to 'deploy 100,000 peacekeepers' in Ukraine, Russia claims

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service believes NATO countries have a plan to "occupy Ukraine" in order to freeze the conflict there.

www.newsweek.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Zelenskyy suggests 'hot phase' of Ukraine war could end in return for NATO membership if offered - even if seized land isn't returned immediately

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken "under the NATO umbrella" - allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest later "in a diplomatic way".

In an interview with Sky News's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president was asked to respond to media reports saying one of US president-elect Donald Trump's plans to end the war might be for Kyiv to cede the land Moscow has taken to Russia in exchange for Ukraine joining NATO.

Mr Zelenskyy said NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country in order to end the "hot phase of the war", as long as the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine's internationally recognised borders.

He appeared to accept occupied eastern parts of the country would fall outside of such a deal for the time being.

"If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control," he said.

"We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way."

Mr Zelenskyy said a ceasefire was needed to "guarantee that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will not come back" to take more Ukrainian territory.

He said NATO should "immediately" cover the part of Ukraine that remains under Kyiv's control, something he said Ukraine needs "very much otherwise he will come back".

Zelenskyy suggests 'hot phase' of Ukraine war could end in return for NATO membership if offered - even if seized land isn't returned immediately

The Ukrainian president told Sky News's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country in order to end the "hot phase of the war", as long as the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine's internationally recognised borders.

news.sky.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

Germany’s Scholz announces Ukraine military aid in surprise Kyiv visit​

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made an unexpected visit to Kyiv on Monday, vowing his country would remain Ukraine’s biggest supporter in Europe and promising delivery this month of military aid worth 650 million euros ($683 million).

The visit, his second since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, signals Germany’s support at a time of uncertainty ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking the reins at the White House and as Russian forces make territorial gains.

Scholz will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is set to push NATO to invite Ukraine to join the military alliance at a meeting in Brussels this week.

The German chancellor’s visit also comes as he faces a tough battle for re-election at a snap vote in February after his coalition collapsed in November.

His own record on supporting Ukraine has been under scrutiny both from those who wanted him to do more to help Kyiv and, on the other side, those voters who want Germany to pull back from sending weapons and aid to Ukraine.

“Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe,” Scholz wrote on X.

At the meeting with Zelenskyy, he said he would “announce further military equipment worth 650 million euros, which is to be delivered in December.”

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2024/12/02/germany-s-scholz-arrives-in-kyiv-for-surprise-visit-report-

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Trump's plan for Ukraine comes into focus: NATO off the table and concessions on territory

Trump's advisers would try forcing Moscow and Kyiv into negotiations with carrots and sticks, including halting military aid to Kyiv unless it agrees to talk but boosting assistance if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses.

Trump repeatedly pledged during his election campaign to end the nearly three-year-old conflict within 24 hours of his Jan. 20 inauguration, if not before then, but has yet to say how.
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Analysts and former national security officials voice grave doubts Trump can fulfill such a pledge because of the conflict's complexity.
Taken together, however, his advisers' statements suggest the potential contours of a Trump peace plan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, facing manpower shortages and growing territorial losses, has indicated that he may be open to negotiations.

While still intent on NATO membership, he said this week that Ukraine must find diplomatic solutions to regaining some of its occupied territories.

But Trump may find Putin unwilling to engage, analysts and former U.S. officials said, as he has the Ukrainians on the back foot and may have more to gain by pursuing further land grabs.

"Putin is in no hurry," said Eugene Rumer, a former top U.S. intelligence analyst on Russia now with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.

The Russian leader, he said, shows no readiness to drop his conditions for a truce and talks, including Ukraine abandoning its NATO quest and surrendering the four provinces Putin claims as part of Russia but does not fully control, a demand rejected by Kyiv.

Putin, Rumer said, likely will bide his time, take more ground and wait to see what, if any, concessions Trump may offer to lure him to the negotiating table.nReuters reported in May that Putin was ready to halt the war with a negotiated ceasefire that recognized current front lines but was ready to fight on if Kyiv and the West did not respond.

Russia already controls all of Crimea, having unilaterally seized it from Ukraine in 2014 and has since taken about 80% of the Donbas - which is comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk - as well as more than 70% of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and small parts of the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions

MORE THAN ONE PLAN

As of last week, Trump had yet to convene a central working group to flesh out a peace plan, according to four advisers who requested anonymity to describe private deliberations. Rather, several advisers have pitched ideas among themselves in public forums and - in some cases - to Trump, they said.

Ultimately, a peace agreement will likely depend on direct personal engagement between Trump, Putin and Zelenskiy, the advisers said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “not possible to comment on individual statements without having an idea of the plan as a whole.”

Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt noted that Trump has said he "will do what is necessary to restore peace and rebuild American strength and deterrence on the world stage."

A Trump representative did not immediately respond to a follow-up question about whether the president-elect still plans to resolve the conflict within a day of taking office.

The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One former Trump national security official involved in the transition said there are three main proposals: the outline by Kellogg, one from Vice President-elect JD Vance and another advanced by Richard Grenell, Trump's former acting intelligence chief.

Kellogg's plan, co-authored with former National Security Council official Fred Fleitz and presented to Trump earlier this year, calls for freezing the current battle lines.

Kellogg and Fleitz did not respond to requests for comment. Their plan was first reported by Reuters.

Trump would supply more U.S. weapons to Kyiv only if it agreed to peace talks. At the same time, he would warn Moscow that he would increase U.S. aid to Ukraine if Russia rejected negotiations. NATO membership for Ukraine would be put on hold.

Ukraine also would be offered U.S. security guarantees, which could include boosting weapons supplies after an accord is struck, according to that proposal.

In a June interview with Times Radio, a British digital station, Sebastian Gorka, one of Trump's incoming deputy national security advisers, said Trump had told him he would force Putin into talks by threatening unprecedented weapons shipments to Ukraine if Putin refused.
Gorka, reached by phone, called Reuters "fake news garbage" and declined to elaborate.

Vance, who as a U.S. senator has opposed aid to Ukraine, floated a separate idea in September.

He told U.S. podcaster Shawn Ryan that a deal likely would include a demilitarized zone at the existing front lines that would be "heavily fortified" to prevent further Russian incursions. His proposal would deny NATO membership to Kyiv.

Representatives for Vance did not make him available for comment, and he has yet to offer additional details.

Grenell, Trump's former ambassador to Germany, advocated the creation of "autonomous zones" in eastern Ukraine during a Bloomberg roundtable in July but did not elaborate. He also suggested NATO membership for Ukraine was not in America's interest.

Grenell, who did not respond to a request for comment, has yet to secure a position in the new administration, although he still has Trump's ear on European issues, a senior Trump foreign policy adviser told Reuters.

That person said Grenell was one of the few people at a September meeting in New York between Trump and Zelenskiy.

Elements of the proposals would likely face pushback from Zelenskiy, who has made a NATO invitation part of his own “Victory Plan,” and from European allies and some U.S. lawmakers, say analysts and former national security officials.

Last week, Ukraine's foreign minister sent a letter to his NATO counterparts urging them to issue a membership invitation at a foreign ministers' meeting on Tuesday.

Some European allies have expressed a willingness to ramp up aid to Ukraine and U.S. President Joe Biden is continuing to send weapons. That could cost Trump some leverage to push Kyiv to the table.

The Kellogg plan, which hinges on increasing aid for Ukraine if Putin does not come to the table, could face blowback in Congress, where some of Trump's closest allies oppose additional military aid for the Eastern European nation.

"I don’t think anybody has any realistic plan for ending this," said Rumer, the former U.S. intelligence officer.

Reporting by Gram Slattery and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Additional reporting by Tom Balmforth in Kyiv and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow; Editing by Ross Colvin and Howard Goller

Source: Reuters

 

[The Bald Eagle]

First EU visit for Russian foreign minister since invasion​

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has travelled to Malta for a European security summit, marking his first visit to an EU state since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

His Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga, who is also attending the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting, walked out of the hall ahead of Lavrov's remarks, according to the country's foreign ministry.

Lavrov's attendance has proven controversial, with Poland's foreign minister refusing to meet him and Sybiga branding the diplomat a "war criminal".

The Russian foreign minister accused the West of fuelling a new Cold War "with a much greater risk of a transition to a hot one".

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Sybiga said Russia's involvement in the OSCE was contrary to the organisation's aims, describing it as the "biggest threat to our common security".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended. He accused Russia of escalating the war in Ukraine and spreading a "tsunami of misinformation".

"Let's not fool ourselves and let's not allow [Lavrov] or anyone else to fool us," he said.

"This is not about and has never been about Russia's security. This is about Mr Putin's imperial project to erase Ukraine from the map."

Blinken and Lavrov, who have had limited interaction since the war in Ukraine began, are not scheduled to meet at the summit.

Kyiv boycotted last year's OSCE meeting in North Macedonia, which is not an EU member, due to Lavrov's attendance and has previously called for Russia's expulsion from the group.

Several diplomats and officials were seen leaving the hall ahead of Lavrov's remarks.

Moscow has grown increasingly critical of the OSCE, which was set up to ease east-west tensions during the Cold War and aims to prevent conflict and manage crises in Europe.

The forum of 57 states meets to discuss security issues on the continent and carries out practical security work, including sending observers to conflicts and elections globally.

Last year, Lavrov claimed the OSCE was "being turned into an appendage of Nato and the European Union", while Russia has hampered the group's ability to function in recent years by vetoing several major decisions.

Moscow voted to suspend its involvement in its parliamentary assembly earlier this year, calling it anti-Russian and discriminatory.

Ahead of this week's summit, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Lavrov would use the occasion to criticise the OSCE's "institutional crisis".

She said the OSCE had been "Ukrainised" and accused Western states of "using this platform for their own interests".

Zakharova also wrote on Telegram that Malta had annulled her visa to accompany Lavrov to the meeting.

The Maltese foreign affairs office said that three OSCE member countries had objected to extending the visa to Zakharova, who is facing a travel ban.

While Lavrov is subject to EU sanctions, he is not under a travel ban.

Source: BBC

 

[FearlessRoar]

EU countries fail to agree new Russia sanctions package

Representatives of European Union countries today failed to approve a 15th package of sanctions on Russia, which included an extension for the Czech Republic to import Russian oil-based products coming mainly through Slovakia.

Two member states blocked the passage over a disagreement about extending the time given to European companies disinvesting from Russia, diplomats said. EU members will come back to the package later.

The package also includes sanctions on tankers carrying Russian oil.

Within the package was a debate on extending an EU exemption allowing the Czechs to continue importing diesel and other products derived from Russian oil and made in a Slovak refinery.

While the Czechs have said they were not looking for an extension allowing the import of Russian oil-based fuels, Slovakia has sought to keep the arrangement, which expired yesterday, in place.

Sky News

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Russian attacks across Ukraine kill at least 11 people​

At least nine people have been killed in a Russian attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, its governor says.

Ivan Fedorov said the strike on Friday set a car garage and service station on fire.

“Nine dead and six wounded,” Fedorov said in a post on Telegram alongside images of a fire blazing with debris strewn across a street.

He added that two children, aged four and 11, were among those hurt.

The attack comes after weeks of escalation in the nearly three-year war in Ukraine, where Moscow has stepped up its strikes at the start of winter.

The Russian military also struck the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, the local governor said, killing at least two people.

Source: Al Jazeera

 

[BouncerGuy]

Any settlement with Russia has to be ‘just’, says Zelenskyy at Trump meeting

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Saturday insisted at a meeting with US president-elect, Donald Trump, that any settlement with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine had to be “just”, as fears grow in Kyiv on the position of the incoming administration.

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, hosted three-way talks with Zelenskyy and Trump at the Élysée palace, discussing what the incoming US president had termed a world that was a “little crazy”.

Hours after their meeting, the outgoing administration of president Joe Biden announced a new $988m (£775m) military assistance package for Ukraine.

The package features drones, ammunition for precision Himars rocket launchers, and equipment and spare parts for artillery systems, tanks and armoured vehicles, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump just before the three men headed to Notre Dame for the reopening ceremony of the Paris cathedral was his first face-to-face encounter with the tycoon-turned-politician since his election victory.

The meeting was of huge importance to Zelenskyy, given fears in Kyiv that Trump, who once boasted he could end Russia’s war on Ukraine in 24 hours, may urge Ukraine to make concessions to Moscow.

It also offered a unique chance for Macron to gain insights into how a second Trump presidency will look when he takes office in January. The trip to Paris is Trump’s first international visit since his 5 November election win.

“We all want peace. But it is very important for us … that the peace is just for all of us and that Russia, (Russian president Vladimir) Putin or any other aggressor has no possibility of ever returning,” Zelenskyy said according to the presidential website.

“And this is the most important thing – a just peace and security guarantees, strong security guarantees for Ukraine,” he added.

Trump has scoffed at the billions of dollars in US military assistance to Ukraine and has spoken of forcing a quick settlement.

But Zelenskyy also thanked Trump for his “unwavering resolve” describing the talks as “good and productive”.

Trump and Macron embraced and shook hands several times on the steps of the French presidential palace, with US president-elect given a full guard of honour despite not yet being in office.

“It seems like the world is going a little crazy right now and we will be talking about that,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to sit down for the talks with Macron.

Despite tensions between the two men during his first term, Trump hailed his ties with the centrist French leader, saying: “We had a great relationship as everyone knows. We accomplished a lot.”

Macron told the US president-elect it was “a great honour for French people to welcome you” for the reopening ceremony at Notre Dame, which was devastated by a blaze in 2019 during Trump’s first term.

“You were president at that time and I remember the solidarity and the immediate reaction,” Macron added, speaking in English.

The Republican’s return to power has rung alarms in Paris and many European capitals after his promises on the campaign trail to force an end to fighting in Ukraine and levy tariffs on trading partners.

In his own reaction to the discussions, Macron wrote on social media: “Let us continue our joint efforts for peace and security.”

European allies have largely enjoyed a close working relationship with Biden on the crisis in the Middle East, but Trump is likely to distance himself and ally the US even more closely with Israel.

In a sign of the importance of Trump’s one-day trip to Paris, he was accompanied by his pick for White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, as well as his Middle East advisers, Steve Witkoff and Massad Boulos, according to a guest list issued by the Élysée palace.

Tesla tycoon and Trump adviser Elon Musk, who was also on the line during a phone call between the incoming president and Zelenskyy last month, also flew into the French capital and was present at the Notre Dame ceremony.

SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...as-to-be-just-says-zelenskyy-at-trump-meeting

 

[FearlessRoar]

Donald Trump calls for Russia's Vladimir Putin to reach 'immediate' settlement with Ukraine​

Donald Trump has urged Vladimir Putin to reach an immediate settlement to end the war in Ukraine, saying it was the Russian president's "time to act".

The US president-elect wrote on social media on Sunday that [Volodymyr] "Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness".

He called for "an immediate ceasefire" and said "negotiations should begin".

Referring to his closeness to Mr Putin, he added: "I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The world is waiting!"

Appearing on NBC's Meet The Press, Sky News' US partner, he was asked if he was actively working to end the near three-year-old conflict, and replied "I am."

Mr Trump restated that he was open to reducing US military aid to Ukraine. Asked if the country should prepare for possible cuts in US aid, he said "possibly".

Similarly, he again warned the US could quit NATO if other member states failed to increase their contributions but said: "If they're paying their bills, and if I think they're treating us fairly, the answer is absolutely I'd stay with NATO."

Asked if he would consider pulling the US out of the alliance if that wasn't the case, he responded: "Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely."

He wouldn't confirm if he had spoken to Russia's leader since winning the election in November because he said he didn't want "to do anything that could impede the negotiation".

The former president's call for an immediate ceasefire goes further than anything incumbent president Joe Biden has said.

It's his clearest effort so far to resolve one of the world's major crises before taking office on 20 January and contrasts with the Biden administration, which has made a point of not being seen to press Kyiv for an immediate truce.

Mr Trump's latest intervention comes the day after he held talks with both the Ukraine president and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

The trio joined other world leaders in the city for the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral after the devastating fire of 2019.

Mr Zelenskyy described his weekend discussions with Mr Trump as "constructive" but on Sunday he warned in a post on the Telegram messaging app that Ukraine needs a "just and robust peace, that Russians will not destroy within a few years".

A workable peace with Russia must be underpinned by "effective peace guarantees", he said, adding that Ukrainians "want peace more than anyone else. Russia brought war to our land".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Moscow's oft-stated position that it is open to talks with Ukraine.

Donald Trump calls for Russia's Vladimir Putin to reach 'immediate' settlement with Ukraine

Mr Trump urged the warring sides to "stop the madness", saying "negotiations should begin" as he admitted he was actively working to end the near three-year-old conflict.

news.sky.com

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Russia inches ahead in eastern Ukraine as Trump warns of aid cuts to Kyiv​

Ukraine’s president has sharply raised his demand for air defence systems, highlighting how much Russia has intensified the air war in recent months.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said Ukraine needed a dozen additional Patriot systems to insulate its economy from the war.

“Ten or twelve additional Patriot systems for Ukraine will ensure [that]… no [glide bombs], no missiles, any ballistic missile etc. will be able to hit the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine, the energy sector, our hospitals, schools, universities,” Zelenskyy posted on the Telegram messaging app.

“People will return to normal life, and from abroad too. Children will go to schools, universities. The economy will work.”

In April Zelenskyy had said Ukraine needed a minimum of seven Patriot systems to provide air cover, but Russia has since raised the number of missiles, drones and huge glide bombs launched against Ukraine.

Last week, Zelenskyy said, Russia used almost 500 glide bombs, whose warhead ranges from 250kg (550lbs) to three tonnes, more than 400 strike drones, and almost 20 missiles of various types against Ukraine’s front lines and civilian infrastructure.

Source: BBC

 

[FearlessRoar]

Two Russian oil tankers sink in Black Sea - reports​

Two Russian oil tankers with 29 crew members on board have sunk in the Black Sea amid bad weather and are now leaking oil, Russian authorities have said.

Video posted on Telegram by Russia's Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office, which the BBC has been unable to verify, appears to show one of the tankers broken in half and sinking amid a heavy storm, with streaks of oil visible in the water.

At least one crew member is believed to have died - and Russian authorities are investigating for criminal negligence, according to TASS news agency.

The incident took place in the Kerch Strait, which separates Russia from occupied Crimea.

A rescue and clean-up operation is under way involving tugboats, helicopters and more than 50 personnel, TASS news agency reported.

"Today, as a result of a storm in the Black Sea, two tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, sank," Russia's federal sea and inland water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot, wrote in a statement.

"There were crews of 15 and 14 people on board the ships. The accident resulted in a spill of oil products," it continued.

Both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tonnes of oil, Reuters news agency reported.

The full extent of the oil spill remains unclear.

Two Russian oil tankers sink in Black Sea - reports

Video appears to show one of the tankers broken in half and sinking amid a heavy storm, with oil visible in the water.

www.bbc.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

North Korean troops join Russian assaults in significant numbers, Kyiv says

Russia has begun using North Korean troops in significant numbers for the first time to conduct assaults on Ukrainian forces battling to hold an enclave in Russia's Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday.

The Ukrainian leader said the more active use of the troops was a new escalation in the war and called for a global response, as Donald Trump's return to the White House next month fuels speculation of a coming push for peace talks.

"Today, we already have preliminary data that the Russians have begun to use North Korean soldiers in their assaults. A significant number of them," Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in his daily wartime address.

The North Koreans were being used in combined Russian units and only on the Kursk front for now, he said, adding: "We have information suggesting their use could extend to other parts of the front line."

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-says-russia-is-deploying-more-north-korean-troops-repel-kursk-2024-12-14/

 

[FearlessRoar]

North Korean troops killed fighting Ukraine, says US​

North Korean troops have been killed fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk border region, the US has said.

These would be the first reported casualties since it emerged in October that North Korea had sent around 10,000 troops to reinforce Russia's war effort.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency, the GUR, said at least 30 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded in fighting over the weekend.

The BBC has not independently verified the claims.

The North Korean troops - none of whom will have any previous combat experience - are believed to have spent their first weeks after being sent to Russia in training and then in support roles.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian had begun to use a "significant number" in its assaults in Kursk, part of which Ukraine has occupied since launching a surprise incursion in August.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said the US believed North Korean soldiers had "engaged in combat in Kursk alongside Russian forces" and "suffered casualties, both killed and wounded".

He did not give specific numbers, though said the troops had been in combat since "a little over a week ago".

He added that it appeared the North Koreans were being used in infantry roles and that their involvement was thought so far to be limited to Kursk, implying that they have not been deployed in Ukraine itself.

Russian forces, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, have been advancing in eastern parts of the country in recent months.

The GUR said the North Korean casualties had occurred on Saturday and Sunday in the Kursk villages of Plekhovo, Vorobzha, and Martynovka.

On Monday, President Zelensky posted drone footage on Telegram that showed a number of men taking cover behind trees, saying they were North Korean troops who had just taken part in an assault on a Ukrainian position.

He also posted footage that he said showed Russian troops trying to conceal the presence of North Koreans on the battlefield by using a campfire to burn the faces of those who had been killed.

"Ukraine's Defense Forces and intelligence are working to determine the full extent of the actual losses suffered by Russian units that include North Koreans," he said.

He added that there was "not a single reason for North Koreans to die in this war".

The Kremlin referred questions about North Korean deaths to the Russian Ministry of Defence, which has made no comment.

North Korean troops killed fighting Ukraine, says US

These would be the first reported casualties since North Korea sent troops to support Russia in October.

www.bbc.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

Senior Russian general killed in Moscow blast

A high-ranking Russian military officer has reportedly been killed in an explosion in Moscow this morning.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov died when a device hidden in a scooter parked next to the entrance of a residential building was detonated, according to the Russian TASS news agency, citing Moscow's investigative committee.

Kirillov was the head of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical defence forces.

The report added that his assistant was also killed in the blast and that a criminal probe into the attack has been launched.

Ukraine's intelligence service said that Kirillov was responsible for "the massive use of banned chemical weapons" against the Ukrainian military.

The UK placed sanctions on him in October, saying he was responsible for deploying chemical weapons in Ukraine and was a "significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation".

Sky News

 

[FearlessRoar]

West should pressure Russia into peace talks, says minister

Western nations should push Russia, not Ukraine, into peace negotiations, says Poland's foreign minister.

Radoslaw Sikorski said that, as the aggressor in the conflict, Moscow should be the one being pushed to negotiate with Kyiv.

"Both the United States and the European Union must help Ukraine to achieve a better negotiating position for possible future negotiations, which should be encouraged and forced on the aggressor, not the victim," he said.

Sikorski added that the EU should become more "tense" in its response to Russian aggression.

Sky News

 

[FearlessRoar]

Senior Russian general killed in Moscow blast

A high-ranking Russian military officer has reportedly been killed in an explosion in Moscow this morning.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov died when a device hidden in a scooter parked next to the entrance of a residential building was detonated, according to the Russian TASS news agency, citing Moscow's investigative committee.

Kirillov was the head of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical defence forces.

The report added that his assistant was also killed in the blast and that a criminal probe into the attack has been launched.

Ukraine's intelligence service said that Kirillov was responsible for "the massive use of banned chemical weapons" against the Ukrainian military.

The UK placed sanctions on him in October, saying he was responsible for deploying chemical weapons in Ukraine and was a "significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation".

Sky News

Kirillov sentenced by Ukraine yesterday for use of chemical weapons

More now on the Russian general who was killed in an explosion in Moscow this morning (see 6.26 post).

Igor Kirillov was sentenced in absentia by Ukraine's security service (SBU) yesterday for the use of banned chemical weapons during Russia's invasion of the country.

The senior Russian general was the head of Moscow's nuclear, biological and chemical defence forces.

The SBU has claimed that Russia used chemical weapons more than 4,800 times "by order of Kirillov".

It added that more 2,000 Ukrainian troops had suffered varying degrees of chemical poisoning since the start of the full-scale invasion.

"According to the investigation, the occupiers use dangerous chemicals mainly in the hottest areas of combat, where they try to hide the use of chemical agents under dense artillery fire."

Sky News

 

[Cricket Warrior]

General killed in Moscow a legitimate target, says Ukraine

A high-ranking general in the Russian armed forces and his assistant have been killed in Moscow by Ukraine's security service, a Ukrainian source has told the BBC.

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defence Forces (NBC), was outside a residential block early on Tuesday when a device hidden in a scooter was detonated remotely, Russia's Investigative Committee (SK) said.

A source in Ukraine's SBU security service claimed Kirillov was "a legitimate target" and alleging he had carried out war crimes.

On Monday, the SBU charged Kirillov, 54, in absentia, saying on Telegram that he was "responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons".

Ukraine says it killed Russian general Igor Kirillov in Moscow

Ukrainian sources tell the BBC the country's security service was behind the killings.

www.bbc.com

 

[BouncerGuy]

Russia detains Uzbek man over general's killing in Moscow

Russia's security service says a 29-year-old man from Uzbekistan has been detained over the killing of senior general Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow.

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defence Forces (NBC), was outside a residential block early on Tuesday when an explosive device hidden in a scooter was detonated remotely.

The Russian security service said the suspect was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence, according to state media agencies.

A Ukrainian source told the BBC on Tuesday that the killing was orchestrated by Ukraine's security service.

The Ukrainian security source said Kirillov - who was Russia's chemical weapons chief - was "a legitimate target" and alleged he had carried out war crimes.

On Monday, the day before the killing, Ukraine charged Kirillov, 54, in absentia, saying he was "responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons".

The Russian Federal Security Service's (FSB) public relations centre said on Wednesday the detained 29-year-old was "suspected of committing a terrorist attack".

A statement said that during "interrogation he explained that he was recruited by the Ukrainian special services".

The FSB said the suspect had been "guaranteed" a reward of $100,000 and permission to move to the European Union in exchange for killing Kirillov.

It added that on Ukraine's instructions, he arrived in Moscow and rented a car to monitor Kirillov's residence.

He placed the explosive device on an electric scooter, which he parked at the entrance to the residential building where Kirillov lived, the FSB said.

He also installed a camera livestreaming a video feed from the site to his handlers in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

When they saw Kirillov emerge from the house, the suspect detonated the bomb, the statement said.

BBC

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Don't underestimate North Korean troops in Russia, ex-soldiers tell BBC

What Haneul remembers most about his time in the North Korean military is the gnawing, continuous hunger. He lost 10kg in his first month of service, due to a diet of cracked corn and mouldy cabbage.

Three months into training, he says almost his entire battalion was severely malnourished and needed to be sent to a recovery centre to gain weight.

When they were later deployed as frontline guards to the border with South Korea, rice replaced corn. But by the time it reached their bowls, much had been siphoned off by rear units, and the remainder had been cut with sand.

Haneul says his unit was among the best-fed, a tactic to stop them defecting to South Korea. But it failed to prevent Haneul.

In 2012, he made a death-defying dash across the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) – the strip of land dividing the North from the South.

His experience and that of other military defectors helps shed light on the condition of thousands of North Korean troops deployed to the frontline in Russia's war against Ukraine.

North Korean troops in Russia not to be underestimated, ex-soldiers tell BBC

Army defectors say units sent to fight against Ukraine will have high morale but won't be battle hardened.

www.bbc.com

 

[BouncerGuy]

Five killed in strike on Russia's Kursk after deadly missile attack on Kyiv

Russia says five people have been killed in a Ukrainian strike in the western Kursk region.

Ukrainian officials reported earlier that Moscow had launched a fresh missile attack on Kyiv, damaging a building hosting several embassies.

In Russia, the acting governor of the Kursk region said in addition to those killed, nine had been taken to hospital following the attack on the town of Rylsk.

Alexander Khinshtein said a cultural centre, a fitness complex, a school and homes had been damaged in the strike which took place at 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) on Friday.

Russian officials earlier reported six killed, including a child, in Rylsk, about 25km (16 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

But in an audio message on Telegram on Saturday morning, Khinstein gave the latest update, saying there were five fatalities.

"There were no children among those [killed]," he said.

Ukrainian troops still hold parts of the Kursk region after launching a surprise cross-border offensive in early August.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said Russia's strike on Kyiv had affected the diplomatic missions of Albania, Argentina, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal and Montenegro. It is unclear whether the building housing them was directly targeted in the Ukrainian capital.

At least one person was killed and nine others were injured in the strike which damaged a number of buildings in the city, Ukraine's military said. It is not thought that any of the embassy diplomats were injured.

In a verified video filmed in the Pecherskyi District, Kyiv's second oldest Roman Catholic church, St Nicholas Cathedral. is shown with windows shattered following a nearby blast.

Ukraine's military said Russia had launched 65 drones and missiles across the country overnight, with most shot down.

One man in Kyiv, who said he was the owner of a restaurant that suffered extensive damage following the attack, was filmed cursing the Russians as "beasts" as he surveyed the charred shell of a building in front of him.

The video was widely shared on social media.

Oksana, another resident, sent the BBC photos of her destroyed apartment, with the windows blown in and glass and brickwork strewn across the floors.

"I don't understand how I survived," she said.

"My balcony flew away, half my walls are gone. My neighbour is in such shock she can't even speak. I have no words for the people who did this."

A local journalist at the scene told the BBC that one of the buildings nearby had been used by the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU, and was likely to have been the target of the strikes, although much of the damage seen by the BBC had affected residential buildings.

In a statement confirming the attack, the Russian defence ministry said missiles had been launched at an SBU "command post" in response to a strike on a chemical plant in Russia's Rostov Region two days ago.

But there is also speculation in Kyiv that Friday's attack could be linked to the killing of a Russian general, Lt-Gen Igor Kirillov, in Moscow on Tuesday.

Friday's attack come one day after Vladimir Putin's end-of-year press conference and phone-in show, in which he threatened to launch more ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian capital.

There is concern in Ukraine that Russia could use a so-called Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile to hit Kyiv. Moscow test-fired the missile on the central city of Dnipro earlier this month.

Earlier on Friday morning, the Ukrainian authorities issued an air alert linked to the possible launch of an Oreshnik missile, and urged people in Kyiv to urgently seek shelter. It turned out to be a false alarm.

BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

Russia is executing more and more Ukrainian prisoners of war

Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky was captured by Russians in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Later, a video emerged showing him smoking his last cigarette in a forest, apparently next to a grave he had been forced to dig.

"Glory to Ukraine!" he says to his captors. Moments later, shots ring out and he falls dead.

His execution is one of many.

In October this year, nine captured Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly shot dead by Russian forces in Kursk region. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the case including a photo showing half-naked bodies lying on the ground. This photo was enough for one of the victims, drone operator Ruslan Holubenko, to be identified by his parents.

"I recognised him by his underwear," his distraught mother told local broadcaster Suspilne Chernihiv. "I bought it for him before a trip to the sea. I also knew that his shoulder had been shot through. You could see that in the picture."

The list of executions goes on. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating reports of beheadings and a sword being used to kill a Ukrainian soldier with his hands tied behind his back.

In another instance, a video showed 16 Ukrainian soldiers apparently being lined up and then mowed down with automatic gunfire after emerging from a woods to surrender.

Some of the executions were filmed by Russian forces themselves, while others were observed by Ukrainian drones hovering above.

The killings captured on such videos usually take place in woods or fields lacking distinctive features, which makes confirming their exact location difficult. BBC Verify, however, has been able to confirm in several cases - such as one beheading - that the victims wear Ukrainian uniforms and that the videos are recent.

Rising numbers

The Ukrainian prosecution service says that at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion, 127 of them this year.

"The upward trend is very clear, very obvious," says Yuri Belousov, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office.

"Executions became systemic from November last year and have continued throughout all of this year. Sadly, their number has been particularly on the rise this summer and autumn. This tells us that they are not isolated cases. They are happening across vast areas and they have clear signs of being part of a policy - there is evidence that instructions to this effect are being issued."

International humanitarian law - particularly the Third Geneva Convention - offers protection to prisoners of war, and executing them is a war crime.

Despite this, Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Russia's Chechnya, briefly ordered his commanders involved in the Ukraine war "to take no prisoners".

Impunity

Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says there is no shortage of evidence supporting allegations of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian troops. According to her, impunity plays a key part, and the Russian army has some serious questions to answer.

"What instructions do these units have, either formally or informally from their commanders? Are their commanders being quite clear about what the Geneva Conventions say about the treatment of prisoners of war? What are Russian military commanders telling their units about their conduct? What steps is the chain of command taking to investigate these instances? And if higher ups are not investigating, or not taking steps to prevent that conduct, are they aware that they too are criminally liable and can be held accountable?" she asks.

So far, there has been nothing to suggest that Russia is formally investigating claims that its forces have been executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. Even mentioning similar allegations is punishable by lengthy prison sentences in Russia.

According to Vladimir Putin, Russian forces have "always" treated Ukrainian prisoners of war "strictly in line with international legal documents and international conventions".

Ukrainian forces have also been accused of executing Russian prisoners of war, but the number of such claims has been much smaller.

Yuri Belousov says that the Ukrainian prosecution service treats such accusations "very seriously" and is investigating them - but so far no one has been charged.

According to Human Rights Watch, since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 the Russian forces have committed "a litany of violations, including those which should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity".

The Russian army's record of abuses is such that some Ukrainian soldiers prefer death to capture.

"He told me: Mum, I'll never surrender, never. Forgive me, I know you'll cry, but I don't want to be tortured," Ruslan Holubenko's mother says. Her son is still officially classed as missing in action, and she hopes against hope.

"I'll do everything that's possible and impossible to get my child back. I keep looking at this photo. Maybe he is just unconscious? I want to believe, I don't want to think that he's gone."

BBC

 

[Bhaijaan]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1871224249932763596

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Have North Korean fighters died in the Russia-Ukraine war?

Reports are emerging that thousands of North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded while fighting in the Ukraine war on Russia’s side.

Authorities in Ukraine, South Korea and the United States have all reported deaths among North Korean soldiers near Ukraine’s border in Russia’s Kursk.

North Korea has denied sending either troops or weapons to assist Russia.

However, in February this year, former South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik told reporters that Pyongyang had sent Moscow about 6,700 containers carrying millions of munitions starting September 2023 in exchange for raw materials to manufacture weapons, alongside food.

On October 9, Ukraine’s army announced it hit a Russian weapons arsenal, which included weapons sent to Russia by North Korea.

Have North Korean fighters died in the Russia-Ukraine war?

Thousands of North Korean soldiers have died or been wounded according to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[BouncerGuy]

Russia attacks Ukraine energy system in major missile strike, Kyiv says

Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system and cities in its eastern region with cruise and ballistic missiles on Wednesday morning, Ukraine's energy minister and local officials said.

At least six people were wounded in a missile attack on Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Wednesday morning, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Ukrainian air forces said Kharkiv was attacked by ballistic missiles and Syniehubov said on the Telegram messaging app that there were "damages to civilian non-residential infrastructure".

Separately, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram: "Since the morning, the Russian army has been massively attacking the Dnipro region. It is trying to destroy the region's power system."

Ukraine's energy minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook that Russia "is massively attacking the power sector" and that the transmission system operator had imposed restrictions on electricity supply to minimise the impact.

Russia has intensified its attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector since spring 2024, damaging almost half of its generating capacity and causing hours-long blackouts throughout the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Ukrainian military launched a countrywide air alert in response to Russian cruise missile launches.

The country's largest private energy company DTEK said its generating facilities were attacked during the strike, causing "serious damages" to power equipment.

"This year, it is the 13th massive attack on the Ukrainian energy sector and the 10th massive attack on the company's energy facilities," DTEK said on Telegram.

Local authorities and the air force reported missile overflights in the eastern, central, southern and western regions.

During a previous massive missile attack on Nov. 17, Russia launched 120 missiles and 90 drones, killing at least seven people and causing severe damage to the power system.

DTEK imposed emergency power cuts of up to eight hours across large parts of Ukraine at the time.

SOURCE: https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...ttack-ukraines-kharkiv-mayor-says-2024-12-25/

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Zelensky condemns 'inhumane' Christmas Day attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia made a "conscious choice" by launching a major attack on his country's energy infrastructure on Christmas Day.

Ukraine's air force said it had detected 184 missiles and drones, but many were shot down or missed their targets.

It said there were casualties from the strikes but gave no figures.

Moscow confirmed the attack and said its goal had been achieved.

The attack led to power cuts across the country, including in the capital Kyiv, where some residents sheltered in metro stations.

Russia's defence confirmed its forces had carried out a "massive strike" on "critical" energy facilities in Ukraine.

It added that the strike had been a success and all targets were hit.

This was the 13th major attack on Ukraine's energy sector this year, the country's largest private energy company, DTEK, said.

Ukraine: Zelensky condemns "inhumane" Russia Christmas Day attack

Russia has launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

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