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Zelenskyy to Russia: Ukraine will never be forgiven

In Russian, Zelenskyy stated in his speech that the neighboring country was not at war with all of NATO, “as your propagandists lie”. The war also serves no historically significant goals. “It (the war) is for a person who remains in power until the end of his life,” he said, referring to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. “And what’s left of all of you, citizens of Russia, is none of his business.”

Putin wants to show that he leads the army and has his support. “But he’s just hiding,” Zelenskyy said. “He hides behind the army, behind missiles, behind the walls of his homes and palaces, he hides behind you and burns your country and your future.” No one will ever forgive Russia for terrorism, Zelensky said. “No one in the world will forgive you for that. Ukraine will never forgive you.”

In another video message, Zelensky later said: “Ukraine has not lost its sons and daughters – they were taken by murderers.” The country had been invaded by invaders. “The world has not lost peace – Russia has destroyed it.”

On February 24, the Russian army invaded Ukraine under the pretext of wanting to “denazify and demilitarize” the neighboring country. Tens of thousands of people have died in the war, which is not allowed to be called that in Russia and is officially known as a “special military operation” even after more than ten months. There are no exact figures from an independent source.

New Russian drone strikes reported

Just before the turn of the year, “Kamikaze drones” from Russia, which were intended to crash into targets at high speed, flew into Ukraine. Air warnings were issued for the cities of Odessa and Mykolaiv in the south and Dnipro in the center of the country, the Unian agency reported. The alert was later extended to eastern Ukraine. Mykolayiv’s military administrator Vitali Kim reported that two formations of drones had been sighted in his area. The air defense opened fire on the Iranian-made Shahed drones. Even after the turn of the year there was an air raid alarm again.

The current war developments in the live ticker:

Zelenskyy’s New Year greetings to Ukrainians

In a short New Year’s Eve message, President Zelenskyj wished his compatriots a happy new “year of our victory”, as he called it. “Wishing for a miracle? The Ukrainians made them a long time ago,” Zelenskyy said. He also posted a photo of himself and wife Olena in front of a modestly decorated Christmas tree on Instagram. There were other political undertones in his New Year’s message. «Do you want real friends? We already know for sure who they are,” Zelenskyy said, apparently referring to Ukraine’s supporters in the war against Russia. With a touch of irony and a reference to the repeated attacks on the Ukrainian power grid, he explained: “Do you want light? It is in each of us, even when there is no electricity.”

Putin gives New Year’s speech surrounded by soldiers

Russian President Putin recorded his New Year’s speech in times of war surrounded by soldiers. “It has been a year of difficult, necessary decisions, important steps towards preserving Russia’s full sovereignty and with a huge consolidation in our society,” Putin said in the speech broadcast on Saturday. At the same time, he accused the West of “lying”. “For years, the Western elites have hypocritically assured us all of their peaceful intentions, including resolving the most serious conflict in Donbass,” Putin said. “The West has lied about peace and is preparing for aggression. And today he’s not even ashamed to admit it openly.”

Energy supply in Ukraine stable despite damage

Despite the damage caused by Russian missile attacks, the Ukrainians were able to welcome the new year with light. The energy suppliers had been instructed to give priority to the supply of electricity to private households for the New Year celebrations. On Saturday, after the three-hour air raid alarm, it was very busy in the supermarkets in Kiev. Shortly before the festival, the inhabitants of the capital stocked up on delicacies and the traditional sparkling wine.

Despite the holiday, the curfew of 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT) has not been lifted in Kiev and most areas. In more western areas such as Lviv (Lemberg), Chernivtsi (Chernowitz), Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Rivne, the curfew only applied from midnight. Only in the westernmost region of Zakarpattia, which borders Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, was no curfew. In general, there was a national fireworks ban. (sda/dpa)