After heavy snowstorm: Zelensky warns of winter – the night update EU aid for repairing Ukrainian ports – the night update

With the sudden onset of winter in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has drawn the attention of the population to the particularly difficult situation of soldiers at the front. Meanwhile, the General Staff in Kiev reported new heavy fighting, especially in the east of the country. At the same time, the generals talked about the great losses suffered by the Russian attackers.

Instead of the usual reports about the situation at the fronts, the snowstorm in the south and east of the country forced the Ukrainian head of state to turn to the unusual topic of the weather in his evening video speech. “Now that things are so difficult and conditions are so difficult, we should all be especially grateful to those who maintain the defense of our country,” Zelensky said on Sunday evening. He especially mentioned the soldiers “in positions, at posts and in mobile fire brigades”. They are all deployed in winter conditions to “protect Ukraine, the life of our state and our independence.”

A heavy snowstorm hit the entire Black Sea coast of Ukraine on Sunday, causing significant problems in many places. In addition to the power supply in some areas, road traffic also collapsed, while central parts of the country initially suffered from cold and wet snow. The snowstorm also paralyzed traffic and public life on the Crimean Peninsula, which was occupied and annexed by Russia in violation of international law.

In the winter of the previous year, the Russian military tried to put pressure on the Ukrainian population with air strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian government expects a similar scenario this winter.

Kiev: Russia suffered heavy losses last week

According to Ukrainian reports, Russian forces have suffered heavy losses in Ukraine’s various combat zones over the past week. “6,260 occupiers and 672 units of weapons and military technology were destroyed,” the Unian agency quoted Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Pavlyuk as saying on Sunday. The weapons systems destroyed included 78 tanks, 113 armored personnel carriers and 130 artillery systems. The information could not be independently verified.

In the daily updated list of Russian losses in Ukraine since the start of the war, the Ukrainian General Staff on Sunday listed 324,830 soldiers killed or wounded. The number of tanks destroyed by the Russian forces so far amounts to 5,513. Ukrainian forces also claim to have shot down 5,900 drones in response to Russian airstrikes. This information also cannot be verified.

Neither Kiev nor Moscow publish the actual losses of their armed forces. Last summer, American experts estimated Russian losses at about 120,000 dead and 180,000 wounded; on the Ukrainian side, 70,000 soldiers are said to have been killed and about 120,000 injured.

Heavy fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine

The Ukrainian military leadership reported on Sunday a series of Russian attacks, mainly in the east of the country. Five Russian attacks were repulsed around Avdiivka. Strong Russian artillery attacks were reported from the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. The reports could not be independently verified.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian army warned of the danger of a new capture of the industrial city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, in view of the ongoing Russian offensive in the east of the country. “The Russian occupiers have not given up their intention to attack the city of Kupiansk, they want to reoccupy it,” Ukrainian army spokesman Volodymyr Fitjo said.

What will be important on Monday

New fighting is expected in eastern Ukraine around Avdiivka and in the south of the country around the Ukrainian bridgeheads on the Dnipro near Kherson. (sda/dpa)