Zelenskyj: Still power shortages
Despite feverish repairs to the badly damaged power grid, about nine million people in Ukraine are still without electricity. “But the number and duration of power outages are steadily decreasing,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Monday evening. But there are still many shortages in the power supply.
At the same time, Zelenskyy warned of possible new Russian attacks on the energy grid. “The air defense is preparing, the state is preparing and everyone needs to prepare,” he said. The Russian army has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s energy grid for weeks with cruise missiles, missiles and so-called kamikaze drones. The aim is to put pressure on the population in the middle of winter with the loss of electricity and water supplies.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko fears a major Russian attack with missiles and cruise missiles on New Year’s Eve. “The Russians have not renounced attacks on our energy grid,” he said on Ukrainian television on Monday evening. “And since they’re looking at specific dates, New Year’s is probably one of those dates when they’ll try to damage our energy grid.”
The battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut continues
Russian invading forces and Ukrainian defenders continued to fight around the frontline city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. The General Staff in Kiev said several advances by Russian units had been repulsed.
The city of Bakhmut is considered the so-called cornerstone of the front in eastern Ukraine. A breakthrough on this point would allow Russian troops to penetrate deep behind Ukrainian lines. The city has since been expanded into a fortress by the defenders.
Ukrainian artillery hit a concentration of Russian troops in the village of Polovinkino in the eastern Luhansk region of the country on Monday. About 150 soldiers were killed or wounded, it said. A similar artillery strike against Russian troops in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region killed about 50 soldiers and wounded another 100, the general staff in Kiev said. The information could not initially be independently verified.
Kiev wants to shake off Moscow’s UN membership
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, it has launched an initiative to question the legitimacy of Russia’s membership in the United Nations and all its bodies. According to the foreign ministry in Kiev, the Moscow seat is not regulated under international law, neither in the UN nor in the World Security Council, the “Ukrajinska Pravda” quoted a letter from the authority on Monday. Russia has “falsely” considered itself a member of the UN since December 1991.
According to Kiev, the name “Russian Federation” does not appear in the UN Charter and the country has not gone through the necessary admission procedure, as the Czech Republic and Slovakia did after the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The former republics of Yugoslavia also had to reapply for UN membership after the break-up of the multinational state. Russia considers itself the legitimate successor to the Soviet Union, which was one of the founders of the United Nations. Then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin merely informed the UN in December 1991 that Russia, with the support of the Commonwealth of Independent States, retained membership in the UN and all organs.
Lavrov: Ukraine wants to involve NATO more deeply in the conflict
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov told the state agency TASS in an interview published Tuesday night: “The (Kiev) regime on its behalf is trying to pull the Americans and other NATO members deeper into the vortex of the conflict in the hope of a hasty clash. with the Russian army inevitable.” He also criticized the course of the West. He constantly speculates that Russia is about to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. “We are talking about completely different things here – the political course of the West, aimed at total restraint from Russia, is extremely dangerous. It poses the risk of a direct armed clash between the nuclear powers,” Lavrov claimed.
Current developments also in the live ticker:
More than 2.2 billion euros in German arms exports to Ukraine
The German federal government approved arms exports for a whopping 8.35 billion euros this year. This is already the second highest value in the history of the Federal Republic. Only last year the number was even higher at 9.35 billion euros. More than a quarter of the arms and military equipment delivered between January 1 and December 22 went to Ukraine. This is evident from a response from the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs to a request from the left-wing member of the Bundestag Sevim Dagdelen. The letter is available from the German Press Agency. Since the start of the war, arms shipments worth EUR 2.24 billion have been approved to Ukraine.
What can be important on Tuesday
The Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, is expecting Zelensky’s annual speech to MPs this week. The exact date is not given for security reasons. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
