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Moscow has said it plans no ceasefire in Ukraine over the holiday season, either Christmas or New Year. When asked about the possibility of a New Year’s ceasefire, Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov told a press conference: “There will be a complete ceasefire only when not a single occupier remains on our land.” The Kremlin’s top spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also said on Wednesday that there would be no “Christmas ceasefire” in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities identified a cell in the recaptured Kherson region where Russian forces were holding and abusing children. “We have documented that the children did not have water, they were given water every other day. They were practically not given food,” said Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament’s commissioner for human rights. Russian forces put psychological pressure on the children and told them their parents had abandoned them and would not return, he said. At least 10 torture chambers have been found by officials in Kherson. Elsewhere in the war, Volodymyr Zelensky said there was no calm on the front lines as the conflict’s fiercest fighting rages in Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s tactic in its war against Ukraine is to “destroy everything in front of it with artillery so that only bare ruins and craters remain on the ground,” Zelensky said.
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Russia is “concerned” as tensions rise between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Russia expressed its concern on Thursday about the escalation of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A key road connecting Armenia to the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh remains blocked for the fourth day in a row. The two countries have repeatedly fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region – internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but home to around 120,000 Armenians – since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In September, more than 200 soldiers were killed in a flare-up of fighting as Russian troops present in the region have turned their attention elsewhere. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 16:15 1671119042
Poland’s police chief in hospital after Ukrainian gift explosion
A Polish police chief is in hospital after a gift from a senior Ukrainian official exploded. Jarosław Szymczyk was injured when a gift exploded in a room next to his office on Wednesday. He recently met with the head of Ukraine’s police and emergency services when he visited Poland, during which Mr Szymczyk received the gift. He remains in hospital under observation. A civil servant at the national police headquarters also suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment. “The Polish side asked the Ukrainian side to provide an explanation,” the interior ministry said. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 15:44 1671117793
Red Cross volunteer killed by shelling in Ukraine in Kherson
A Ukrainian Red Cross volunteer was killed during Russian shelling of Kherson in Ukraine. The recently liberated Ukrainian city has been heavily bombed in recent days. Two people were killed by a Russian strike in Kherson on Thursday, according to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 15:23 1671116027
Red Cross volunteer killed in Kherson
A Ukrainian Red Cross emergency volunteer was killed by Russian shelling of the city of Kherson. The Red Cross of Ukraine shared the news on Twitter, writing: “Today, during the massive shelling of Kherson, a volunteer of the emergency response team of the Ukrainian Red Cross was killed. “The Ukrainian Red Cross expresses its condolences to the family of the deceased”. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 14:53 1671115061
Kosovo makes formal request to join the EU, Serbia angry
Kosovo’s prime minister formally submitted his country’s application for EU candidate status on Thursday, a first step in what appears to be a very long road to eventual membership. Prime Minister Albin Kurti submitted the request to Czech European Affairs Minister Mikulás Bek, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency. “The European Union is a destination we aim for and it is the destiny we embrace,” Kurti said in Prague. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 14:37 1671112593
Russia attacks infrastructure in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
Russian forces attacked critical infrastructure in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Thursday, setting off several explosions, the city’s mayor said. “Explosions in Kharkiv. The enemy is targeting infrastructure facilities. I ask everyone to be very careful and stay in shelters if possible,” mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 13:56 1671111652
EU leaders face disagreement over industry support, Russia sanctions
European Union leaders met Thursday to try to resolve some of their outstanding disagreements before the end of the year, from ways to defend their industry against subsidy-fueled U.S. competition to new sanctions against Russia and a cap in the price of natural gas. “We are in Europe at a point where we are in danger of deindustrialising and today our response is not a common response,” said Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croix. “Today we see that very often countries try to install programs on their own. It’s a bit like a deep-pocketed game.” No deal is expected on Thursday. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 13:40 1671110452
No prospect of ‘Christmas ceasefire’ in Ukraine, Putin spokesman says
Moscow is not planning a “Christmas cease-fire” in Ukraine and has not received any proposal for one, top spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, describing the course of the war in the harsh winter. “No, no such offers have been received from anyone. This issue is not on the agenda,” the Kremlin spokesman said when asked if Russia had seen proposals for a Christmas ceasefire to stop a military offensive over the holidays. The war in Ukraine will enter its 11th month on Christmas Eve for millions in the European country under Russian siege. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 13:20 1671109252
What can the Patriot missile do for Ukraine?
Patriot missile systems have long been a hot ticket for the US and allies in contested areas of the world as a coveted shield against incoming missiles. In Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific, they are guarded against possible strikes from Iran, Somalia and North Korea. So it was a watershed moment when news broke this week that the US had agreed to send a battery of Patriot missiles to Ukraine — something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been seeking for months to bolster his country’s air defenses. Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 13:00 1671107336
Russia wants a ‘long war’ in Ukraine, senior Ukrainian military official says
Russia is in a long war in Ukraine and still wants to conquer the entire country, a senior Ukrainian military official said on Thursday. Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov told a military briefing that while he did not expect Moscow to launch an attack from Belarus, Russia was now training new troops on the territory of its neighbor and had moved military aircraft there. In the same briefing, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar warned against complacency following recent Russian military setbacks. “The Kremlin … seeks to turn the conflict into a protracted armed confrontation,” Mr. Gromov said. Mr Malyar added: “We and the world must not relax, because the ultimate goal of the Russian Federation is to conquer all of Ukraine and then it can move on.” Eleanor Sly15 December 2022 12:28
