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Speaking in an interview with American showman David Letterman filmed last October and broadcast tonight on Netflix, the Ukrainian president said he believed the war would end as soon as Vladimir Putin died. Rejecting the Russian leader’s threats of a nuclear attack on the West. Mr. Zelensky: “I saw him (Putin) and his preference for living. He loves life very much, he even sits at a long table. . . because he’s afraid of COVID-19. “
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A Russian father recounted the horrific moment his son was “hit in the head with a gun” after refusing to fight in Ukraine.
In an interview with the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg, an elderly Russian, who used the nickname “Sergei” for anonymity, recounted how he made several trips to the front in Ukraine to retrieve his son, who had been arrested and was, for all intents and purposes, missing.
His son, nicknamed “Stas,” was already an army officer when he was called to fight at the start of the war, and he refused his father’s recommendation to stay home. in a war without any cover or realistic prospect of survival.
Sergei recalls: “Then he went to Ukraine. Then I got messages from him asking what would happen if he refused to fight. “
“Stas said the [Russian] infantrymen hadn’t gained any cover; there was no intelligence gathering; There was no preparation. They had been ordered to move forward, but no one knew what awaited them.
“But to refuse to fight a difficult resolution for him. I said, ‘Better take it. This is not our war. This is not a war of liberation. ‘
“He said he would put his refusal in writing. He and several others who had to refuse had their weapons taken away and placed under armed surveillance. “
The West has been asked to tighten the screws on Vladimir Putin with a move that could deliver a “catastrophic” blow to Russia’s already fragile economy.
And Vladyslav Vlasiuk said sanctions are already wreaking havoc, 10 months after Putin ordered his large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Vlasiuk, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking days later showed that the Russian economy contracted by 4% in the third quarter of 2022, meaning it is officially in recession.
He also commented after the G7 agreement on a $60 per barrel value cap on Russian oil purchases on Dec. 3.
Vlasiuk, who is also deputy head of the racing organization in Ukraine, told Express. co. uk that Ukraine had handled for a maximum value of $35 per barrel.
Speaking on video link and warning that the broadcast could be interrupted at any time due to another airstrike, he explained: “This value would mean that Russia would get no more than $150-170 billion in profits next year from oil, which would be a crisis. “for its state budget.
“The $60 label is a crisis: it will have an impact, but it will be excessive. “
Nearly 3,000 Russian tanks have been immobilized or requisitioned by Ukrainian forces since Putin’s forces invaded on Feb. 24.
Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian tank after a dramatic duel in which the two cars collided.
In footage shared through the separate 92nd Mechanized Brigade, blamed for the successful coup, the Ukrainian T-64 tank can be seen driving down a dirt road among the ruins of a war zone before firing several times at the Russian T-73, which explodes like a fireball.
Despite Putin’s threats, a provocative Zelensky president has expressed doubts that Putin will order a nuclear strike on Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president interviewed through David Letterman for his Netflix show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. “
According to Zelensky, the Russian president is too afraid of his own death and enjoys too much to make that mistake.
“I saw him and I saw his preference: He loves life very much,” Zelensky said.
He added: “He even sits at a long table because he’s afraid of catching Covid or whatever.
“I don’t know if he’s willing to use nuclear weapons, because he understands that if he does, any country can act against him personally. “
Vladimir Putin will not launch any other offensive in Ukraine because he cannot muster enough troops.
The Defense Ministry (MoD) reported that the Russian military has found itself trapped in the country as it continues to “liberate” the Donbass region.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had not changed since the February invasion.
Ukrainian prosecutors are working with a foreign team of legal experts to gather evidence that Russians are causing extensive sexual violence against civilians.
Russian foot soldiers are accused of gang rape as a weapon of war. Legal experts from The Hague have been in Ukraine to gather evidence of alleged sex crimes committed through Russian forces.
The Kremlin has denied committing war crimes and has rejected allegations of sexual violence by the Russian military, but investigators in Ukraine report the number of alleged war crimes in the tens of thousands.
The heads of the International Energy Agency and the executive arm of the European Union said on Monday that the 27-nation bloc is expected to face an energy crisis this winter, but will have to boost the renewable energy market and take other steps to avoid an imaginable shortage of herbal resources next year. Gas needed for heating, electric power and factories.
Even after Russia cut off maximum supplies of herbal fuel to Europe amid the war in Ukraine, EU countries were largely able to fill the fuel tank for the winter heating season by tapping up new supplies, saving energy, and reaping the benefits of China’s temperate climate and weak call amid COVID-19 lockdowns.
But those reasons may evaporate next year, so it is imperative that the EU step up energy power efforts, pave the way to renewables and proceed to save energy, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told a joint news conference with the European Commission. President Ursula von der Leyen.
“This winter turns out that we are out of danger,” Birol said, despite “some economic and social blows. “. much more complicated than this year. “
The IEA says the EU faces an imaginable shortage of herbal fuel of up to 30 billion cubic meters, posing the threat of wasting the rest of Russia’s pipeline source and a tight market for liquefied grass fuel, or LNG. arriving via China. for bounces.
In addition, “no one can assure that next year’s temperature will be like this year’s,” Birol said.
David Letterman traveled to Kiev to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for an exclusive special episode of Netflix’s “My Next Guest,” which begins Monday. “I’ve never done anything like this,” Letterman says in a clip as he descends. An escalator a hundred meters underground. The verbal exchange recorded in October on a subway platform became a stage, with a small live audience.
Rishi Sunak called on world leaders to remain aligned “politically, economically and militarily” to win the war in Ukraine, a virtual assembly of G7 leaders this afternoon.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The prime minister said it was transparent that Putin realised he could no longer win on the battlefield and is now resorting to cynical tactics, adding barbaric attacks on critical national infrastructure. “
“Negotiations while the Kremlin was causing so much damage to other Ukrainians were unimaginable, and Putin had to withdraw his forces before genuine peace talks could take place,” the prime minister said, adding that any political strategy will have to stick to the truth of the battlefield.
“He called on G7 partners to join efforts and adapt to Ukraine in 2023. Staying aligned politically, economically and militarily was the only way to ensure that Putin felt in control of his actions,” the prime minister explained.
European Union foreign ministers on Monday imposed new sanctions on Iranian clerics, senior officials and state-media-workers most sensible following the brutal crackdown on protesters, as well as experts they say are connected to supplying explosive drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. .
Ministers imposed bans in Europe and froze the assets of 20 people. They also froze the Islamic Republic of Iran’s broadcast assets, saying the outlet was a “mouthpiece” for “the backlash to the recent protests in Iran. “
Iranian women, and some men, have protested harsh restrictions imposed through the government on their daily lives since September after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
Iran executed a prisoner convicted of crimes committed in nationwide protests opposed to the country’s theocracy, publicly postponing it Monday from a crane structure as a dire warning to others.
In a statement, EU ministers called on Iran “to end the highly condemnable practice of enforcing and wearing down death sentences against protesters and to overturn recent death sentences that have already been handed down. “
The ministers also denounced Iran for supplying drones to Russia, that “Iranian-provided weapons are used indiscriminately through Russia in opposition to Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure, causing horrific destruction and human suffering. “
Four Americans and 4 “entities” (agencies, media, corporations or organizations) were sanctioned “for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. “
Today, Export Minister Andrew Bowie participated in the event “Ukraine: Turning on the Lights Again – A Procurement Event” to discuss the Government’s work with Ukraine to meet its short-term energy wishes this winter.
Mr. Bowie delivered a speech to participants explaining how the government is committed to supporting Ukraine in combating Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war.
It pledged £10 million to the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund, more than any other country, and enough to supply 850 turbines to continue treating patients in hospitals and continue to strain critical infrastructure; $50 million guarantees Ukraine’s state-owned energy provider, Ukrenergo, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to keep its electric power grid running; £5 million for protective and safety equipment to keep Ukraine’s nuclear force sector running; and for UK Export Finance, the UK’s leading export credit agency, to provide financing and insurance for war threats, adding a £500 million war chest to be deployed in Ukraine and already supporting UK corporations with export insurance covering the threat of default.
He said: “The scale of damage to infrastructure and livelihoods in Ukraine due to Putin’s illegal war is catastrophic. Ukraine wants the UK’s supply chain to repair electricity in spaces where critical infrastructure has been destroyed.
“This government is committed to Ucrania. Es that is why this winter we have a diversity of programmes, adding the provision of £10 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, more than any other country.
“Together with industry, let’s do everything we can for Ukraine, keep the lights on, keep hospitals running, keep other people warm and win their fight for freedom. “
A MiG-31 fighter jet of the Northern Fleet Air Defense Forces escorted a Norwegian R-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft over the Barents Sea, the Defense Ministry said.
The interceptor took off after airspace controls detected a target over the sea as it approached the country’s border.
“The Russian fighter team recognized the air target as the Norwegian Air Force R-3C Orion base patrol aircraft and escorted it over the Barents Sea. As a result of the professional movements of the fighter team, the tracking and maneuvering of the foreign warship was assured,” the Defense Ministry said.
After the Orion veered off the state border, the Russian fighter returned to its base airfield.
The flight of the Russian fighter took position in strict compliance with foreign regulations. The MiG-31 crossed air routes and encountered a foreign aircraft.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in October that the number of NATO tactical and reconnaissance aircraft flights near Russia’s borders this year had been 30 percent higher than last year.
Russian fighter jets rise to escort army planes from North Atlantic Alliance countries, which are trying to fly to the country’s borders. Most often they are seen over the Black Sea and the Baltic.
The Federal Air Transport Agency is convinced that the increased intensity of flights from NATO countries in the vicinity of Russia creates dangers for civilian aircraft.
Vladimir Putin won’t hold his “big year-end press conference” this year, a Kremlin official revealed, he hasn’t missed one in 10 years.
Since 2012, the president’s last press convention has been held in December. However, on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov showed that “there will be no press convention before the New Year. “
In November, the media reported that the press convention was not prepared.
One of the reasons for the cancellation, as reported through the media, is the “situation on the sideline”.
Although Putin is officially to blame for the war effort in Ukraine, which he calls an “army special operation,” reports recommend that he is making direct decisions, such as proceeding with the attack on Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast.
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged his “full support” for Ukraine’s peace proposals in a verbal exchange with the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.
The two discussed two assemblies to be held in Paris on Tuesday to discuss aid for Ukraine in the winter. The first will be a foreign assembly of the G7, while the moment will be an aid convention in which 500 French corporations will meet to discuss. Ukraine’s critical needs contribute to the reconstruction of the country and invest in the long-term perspective of the Ukrainian economy.
After his phone call, Macron said: “With President Zelensky, we have ready the meetings that France has on Tuesday: the first, international, to know Ukraine’s wishes to spend the winter, and the moment with French companies involved in the reconstruction of the country. “
Zelensky added: “We synchronized our positions ahead of a virtual G7 summit and support convention in Paris. We implemented our 10-point peace plan, defense cooperation and power stability. “
Zelensky is expected to speak on video at Tuesday’s convention “for the resilience and reconstruction of Ukraine. “
According to the Elysée, “heads of state, heads of government, ministers” from 47 countries will participate, such as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Earlier this month, Macron said he would hold talks “soon” with Russian President Vladimir Putin on security around “civilian nuclear force in Ukraine. “
The Russian leader said last week that an agreement would be “eventually” to repair peace in Ukraine.
Russian forces carried out anti-Ukrainian civilian moves in Donetsk on Sunday when a spokesman for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed Putin’s forces were innocent citizens “like human shields. “
Oleksandr Shtupun said two Russian missile launches hit “the civilian infrastructure of the city of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk Oblast” on Sunday. He added that Russia had carried out 11 movements opposed to Ukrainian forces along the eastern front line.
ÀKherson, who launched last month, M. Shtupun said Putin’s forces had “carried out more than 60 MLRS attacks against the city’s civilian infrastructure. “
He added: “In violation of foreign humanitarian law, the enemy continues to use civilians as human shields. In the village of Troitske in the temporarily occupied Luhansk Oblast, Russian occupiers set up army aircraft and set up firing positions near residential buildings. where the civilian population lives.
The Russian army’s losses reach 100,000 after the weekend of brutal fighting.
According to the most recent estimates by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 94,760 Russian infantrymen have been killed since the Feb. 24 invasion, an increase of 620 from last week.
In addition, Ukraine claimed that more than 280,000 Russians were wounded and about 1,000 captured.
It is believed that about a third of those recent losses are due to the devastation caused by 4 HIMARS missiles used in Ukraine in the city of Melitopol west of Mariupol and about 150 kilometers north of Crimea. Ivan Fedorov, exiled mayor of Melitopol, said about two hundred Russian infantrymen had died in the southern Ukrainian city, which they occupied in March.
Kremlin officials said the death toll was particularly lower, though they declined to give a precise figure.
ud83dude08Everything in the database ud83cuddf7ud83cuddfa to #Melitopol. pic. twitter. com/POqD2IjdLX
Russia is “currently unlikely to meet its objectives” in Ukraine, the British Defense Ministry said.
After Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Russia’s main goal was to occupy the entire territory of the 4 newly annexed regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, the Defense Ministry said there was no sign that Putin’s forces could achieve that goal. . in the near future.
Its latest defense intelligence update said: “Lately Russia’s strategy is unlikely to achieve its objectives: it is highly unlikely that the Russian military will ultimately generate an effective limit of strike force to retake those areas.
“The Russian floor forces will make significant operational progress in the coming months. “
At present, Russian forces are lately seeking a defensive front from east of Kharkiv in the north to Kinburn Split in the southwest.
Latest defence intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 12 December 2022 Read about the UK government’s response: https://t. co/ngW6tfLdtwud83cuddfaud83cudde6. twitter. com/E2XThQO2GD
A Ukrainian official said many Wagner Group infantrymen were killed after an attack in the town of Kadivka, west of Luhansk, devastated one of its bases on Saturday. Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, told Ukrainian television that forces hit the HIMARS missile site.
Sources in Kiev say the strike in Kadiivka resulted in “significant losses,” according to the Telegraph.
Photos posted on Telegram gave the impression of showing a construction largely reduced to rubble.
Gaidai said those who survived the moves did not have enough medical care to receive treatment and “will die before receiving care. “
He said: “I am sure that at least 50% of those who controlled will die before receiving medical care,” he said. “That’s because even in our Luhansk region they stole equipment. “
The Wagner Group is a vicious Russian mercenary organization composed of former criminals, demobilized from the armed forces and criminals. It is led by Putin’s oligarch and confidant, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who reportedly has a direct line to the Russian leader.
The organization is notorious for its brutality and last month, a 55-year-old Wagnerian fighter from Russia, Yevgeny Nuzhin, was brutally beaten to death with a hammer after defecting to Ukraine.
Footage from the summer showed Prigozhin recruiting in Russian prisons, telling murderers and rapists that if they served six months in his regiment, they would be released from imprisonment.
Ukrainian forces attacked infantrymen of the Wagner Group in the eastern city of Svatove in the early hours of Monday, footage showed. Reports claim there were “many deaths” as a result of the attacks. A video shows one of the Russian mercenaries shouting “F***, there is no part of a hostel here” as they cause damage.
Another video shows a wounded mercenary fighter holding a soldier of the Wagner group, who appears not to be alive.
Wagner’s headquarters in Svatove won HIMARS a few hours ago. Judging by the videos, there have been many deaths. One of the videos circulating is very graphic, a wounded soldier appears holding a user who is no longer vivo. pic. twitter. com/ taDVxl1Ga2
I’m Tom Watling, I’ll bring you all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. Don’t hesitate to touch me as I apply if you have a story or recommendation to share!Your mind is welcome.
Email: tom. watling@reachplc. com
Twitter: @TomAWatling