Millions of people in Ukraine face power outages due to Russian missile attacks on energy infrastructure. The government in Kyiv called on citizens to reduce electricity consumption and not to use household appliances, such as ovens and washing machines.
CNN reports 75 rocket strikes across Ukraine. At least five people died in Kyiv. The Ukrainian government is talking about an attack on the energy infrastructure. Western media claim that this is Vladimir Putin's "revenge" for the attack on the Crimean bridge
The successful counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army threatened the supply of Russian troops in the southeast of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky claims that dozens of occupied places have been liberated in recent days. Vladimir Putin completed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, and Russia is rapidly preparing 300.000 soldiers to go to Ukraine
The counter-offensive of the Ukrainian troops continues with unabated ferocity. If the advance along the Djepr turns out to be correct, several thousand Russian soldiers could find themselves in a trap. On the battlefield, neither the mobilization in Russia, nor the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson changed anything in favor of Russia
The position of many in the American administration is that Ukraine should be supported in the field in all possible ways, and that membership in NATO can wait for another time. Because, if Ukraine were to become a member of NATO, it would mean a direct conflict between this Alliance and Russia
Ukraine wants to accede to the Western military alliance according to an accelerated procedure. However, this is not so simple, and it would mean that NATO is directly involved in the war
Speaking about the beginning of the invasion in the early morning of February 24, the Russian president held himself as the absolute ruler on whom everything depends. However, that pose quickly and noticeably began to unravel along with the dissolution of the original "special military operation" plan. Self-confidence noticeably returned to Putin in mid-summer, when the Russian army recorded successes on the Luhansk battlefield, but the Ukrainian counteroffensive around Kharkiv brought a new low: at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Samarkand, he was forced to express understanding for the objections of China and India, but and exposed to the humiliation of smaller members of that organization
The short-term goal of the Ukrainian army is the liberation of Mariupol, Melitopol and Kherson, and the long-term goal of all territories occupied by the Russians. Joe Biden reiterated that the US will stand by Ukraine as long as it needs US help. The West is still not supplying tanks to Ukraine
The last speech of the President of Ukraine to Moscow was full of poetic anger. It sounded like resistance poetry. He was apparently inspired by the power outages in the east of the country and the success of the Ukrainian offensive
The Ukrainian army is conquering town after town, Russian troops are retreating. Fighting is also reportedly taking place around the airport in Donetsk, which the Russians have controlled since 2014. President Volodymyr Zelensky talks about the return of 2000 square kilometers of territory
Due to the increasing number of state officials who are suspected of having committed high treason, the president of Urajina, Volodymyr Zelenski, fired the state prosecutor and the head of the internal security service. So far, more than 130 corpses have been found in the vicinity of Kiev, which Ukrainian authorities claim are civilians killed by Russian soldiers. Moscow denies that its troops committed war crimes
Thanks to Western military aid, Ukraine launched long-range missile attacks on Russian forces in southern Ukraine and destroyed an ammunition depot, the Ukrainian military announced. Russia claims that a fertilizer plant was hit and continues to strike in the east of the country
While the surveyors of Montenegro and Albania, Dritan Abazović and Edi Rama, are supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russia in Kiev, the situation in North Donetsk is dramatic. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks of "painful losses" and asks the West for an immediate delivery of anti-missile weapons. The Russian command in Severodnietsk calls on Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms
Russian troops temporarily occupied several dozens of places in the Donetsk region. About 50 rocket attacks were recorded. Russia is bringing new tactical battalions to the east of Ukraine. The drama in Mariupol continues
Russian troops are making almost no progress on the ground, but that is why they have intensified the bombing of cities. The defenders of Mariupol refused the Russian ultimatum to lay down their arms. Explosions are heard in Kiev. Trains from China with an unknown cargo left for Moscow. The use of Russian supersonic missiles has exposed holes in the defense of European NATO members
Targets near Lviv were bombed again. Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Bundestag. There are survivors in the theater in Mariupol. Russia claims to have found evidence of chemical weapons labs in Ukraine and acknowledges supply problems. The US warns China to refrain from supporting Russia, and Arnold Schwarzenegger calls on Russian soldiers to desert
The hostilities approached the border with Poland. While the Russians are intensifying the bombing of strategically important places and tightening the belt around Kiev, the US is putting the appearance of "real" negotiations with Russia. Mariupol has become a symbol of Russia's destruction of Ukraine
The day of the truce due to the evacuation of civilians was marked by the bombing of the maternity hospital in Mariupol. About 35.000 civilians reportedly left the besieged cities for safety via three humanitarian corridors. On Thursday night, local authorities in several cities reported bombing and shelling by Russian troops. According to Ukrainian and Western sources, an offensive on Kiev is expected in the coming days
The USA and Great Britain announced a ban on the import of Russian oil and thus declared an energy war with Moscow. Battles are still being fought around Kiev, Kharkiv and Mariupol. Volodymyr Zelensky motivates Ukrainians to fight until victory. Corridors were formed for the evacuation of civilians
The war is heating up, victims are measured in thousands, refugees in hundreds of thousands, the end is not in sight. In record time, the entire Western Hemisphere united in isolation, economic strangulation and condemnation of Russia, in all possible assistance to Ukraine. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, overnight became a movie hero of the fight for freedom and democracy, with whom citizens throughout the Western world can identify. The message is that Europe is defending itself in Kiev. The image of his video-link address to the European Parliament is an image, at least temporarily, of a united Europe. Serbia is not in that picture
The world's mass audience is culturally primed for a personified struggle between good and evil: Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader; Batman v Joker; John McClain vs. Hans Gruber; God against the devil - Zelensky against Putin. Good must win, the world stands behind Zelenski. Except it's not war fiction
Currently, the only visible winner of the Ukrainian war is the NATO pact, which, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has a permanent justification for its existence, which it has been desperately seeking since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It is absurd that it would be in the interest of Russia, as well as the West, to end the war as quickly as possible, at least from the Western point of view, no matter how painful it may be, with the defeat of Ukraine and the installation of a pro-Russian government. If the bloody conflict with many civilian casualties drags on, both sides will be forced to raise the stakes. In resisting the Russian invasion, Ukrainians were left to fend for themselves. If NATO intervened directly, the world would be on the brink of war with unforeseeable consequences
Comedian, actor and sixth president of independent Ukraine. It strives for close ties with the EU and NATO. He blames the West for not doing enough to protect Ukraine. He says that he is the "main target of Russian aggression" which aims to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine. As for the latter, Zelensky is a Jew
A new war has begun in Europe. The Russian military bombed military infrastructure across Ukraine. Russian special forces penetrated into Ukrainian territory from all directions and occupied strategic points without much resistance. A state of war and general mobilization was declared. There are dead and wounded
Even if it does not attack militarily, Russia can severely damage Ukraine economically by maintaining tensions permanently. The damage is already enormous, capital is fleeing, investors are avoiding high-risk areas, and Western aid is scarce.
With a little good wishes and a little more threats, on December 30, Joseph Biden and Vladimir Putin again discussed the de-escalation of strained relations between the US and Russia. In January, there will be a series of meetings at a lower level on the same topic
