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Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: December 20th, 2022
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.[Korrespondent] 22:47 CNN writes that the United States plans to transfer Patriot complexes to Ukraine in the next military aid package.  21:43 Zelensky said in an evening video message that today, on the way to the front line, he passed Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkovka, Konstantinovka: "Cities, villages next to them, which are now literally fighting for their lives. Look at what kind of offensive Russia has - what it leaves there where he brings his flag... Scorched earth, destroyed life... Pain, ruins and graves - this is the so-called "Russian world". This is what our heroes stop. And so that this movement is - so that there is our border, so that we return Ukrainian flag to cities and villages in the south and east of our state - there is Bakhmut, there is a fortress, there are our heroic defenders. 20:41 The state of the power system in Kiev practically did not change during the day - almost the entire city, about 1.1 million users, was turned off during the day, YASNO CEO Serhiy Kovalenko said: "We don't even count on approaching the schedule. % less than required. 20:34 Russia plans to conclude an agreement with Iran, under which it will receive kamikaze drones, and Iran will receive advanced military components, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said: "Iran has become one of Russia's main military partners ... In exchange for the supply of more than 300 of kamikaze drones, Russia is now determined to provide Iran with advanced military components, undermining both Middle East and international security." 20:26 President of Finland Sauli Niiniste approved the 11th package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 28.8 million euros. 19:47 Bakhmut is the hottest point of the front. The occupiers have been trying to break through the defense line of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for a month now, but they are regularly defeated on the outskirts of the city. During his visit to the Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Bakhmut and met with the military who are holding the defense and presented them with state awards. Details about the visit - in the material The hottest spot . 19:21 The United States in a new military aid package will give Ukraine electronic equipment that can turn unguided airborne munitions into "smart bombs" with high-precision guidance, CNN reports. 19:18 Shmygal warned of new Russian attacks: "Russian terrorists will do everything to leave Ukrainians without electricity by the New Year. It is important for them that Christmas and New Year in Ukraine pass in the dark. Therefore, we must prepare for new attacks." 19:16 The border with Belarus is maximally strengthened in terms of defense, spokesman for the State Border Service Andrei Demchenko said: "The situation along the border with Belarus and in the border area remains under control. We are not recording any direct mass movement or a sharp increase in military equipment or living forces near the border." 19:12 Ukraine received 500 million Canadian dollars (about 367 million US dollars) from Canada, Shmyhal said. This is another tranche under the loan agreement between the two countries for a total amount of 1.95 billion Canadian dollars. The funds were raised from the sale of Ukrainian sovereign bonds and entered Ukraine through a special account administered by the IMF. 18:37 Ukraine received 200 million euros of credit funds from the Netherlands through the IMF administrative account mechanism. The loan was granted on preferential terms, the Finance Ministry said. 17:49 The leadership of the Russian Federation has no consensus on whether to launch a new large-scale offensive against Ukraine this winter, writes The New York Times, citing representatives of the US State Department. Debate on this matter continues in the Kremlin. According to the publication, some high-ranking Russian officials insist on the need for a new offensive, while others doubt that the Russian Federation has the resources for this. 16:57 Ukraine has become the state of the year according to the British magazine The Economist. "Our country of 2022 can only be Ukraine," the editors stressed. 16:53 Russia has started using a new model of Iranian drones - it is smaller in size compared to the old Shahed-136, Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said. According to him, we are talking about the Shahed-131 model, which in the Russian Federation is labeled as Geranium-1. 16:49 Russia is transferring tanks, trucks and personnel of the RF Armed Forces to the south of Belarus from the Belarusian training grounds in the northern and central parts of the country, where they were stationed, the monitoring group of Belarus Gayun reports. 16:41 Reznikov announced next year "gifts" in the form of military assistance from partners. The Minister assured that the assistance would be systemic and monthly. "The American military-industrial complex is already working. That is, one of the key topics of each Ramstein is the launch of the capacities of manufacturing countries that support Ukraine in this war," the minister said. In addition, orders have already been placed in Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and other countries. "Orders have already been placed, and their production facilities are already working to supply Ukraine. And I will say frankly, without revealing big secrets: next year many contracts have already been signed to supply us with the necessary weapons and ammunition," Reznikov announced. 16:05 The drone attack on December 19 was the largest since the beginning of the war, Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said: "They have ground reconnaissance, intelligence, space, they are laying routes where, obviously, there are weak points of Ukrainian air defense." 16:02 The state budget of Ukraine received grant funds in the amount of $2 billion from the World Bank trust fund, the Ministry of Finance announced. This is the second tranche of a grant totaling $4.5 billion. The funds are provided by the United States to ensure sustainable governance in Ukraine and will be used to provide pensions and salaries to civil protection workers, as well as to pay for medical services under the medical guarantee program. 15:23 As a result of an explosion on a gas pipeline in Russian Chuvashia, a damaged section of the pipe through which gas supplies to Europe are blocked, regional authorities reported. 14:58 In Mariupol, the location of the Russian military on the territory of the MMK them. Ilyich, said the mayor's adviser Petr Andryushchenko. Mariupol resistance reports sabotage. In particular, all the property looted by the occupiers is on fire. 14:26 At the meeting between Putin and Lukashenko, "nothing critical" happened for Ukraine, Kuleba said: "The meeting between Putin and Lukashenko is another dance in their performance. According to the information that we have now, no then critical decisions. According to the minister, Putin continues to persuade Lukashenka to maximally assist the activities of the Russian armed forces. According to Kuleba, another meeting of the two dictators is planned soon. "Whatever they agree on, Ukraine is ready for it," the Foreign Minister assured. 14:01 On the night of December 20, the Russians fired on the oil and gas infrastructure of the Naftogaz group. The missiles hit one of the facilities in the Kharkiv region, the company said. A large-scale fire broke out at the site, and its liquidation is currently ongoing. There were no casualties. 13:53 Borrell said he had met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian and stressed the need for an immediate end to Russia's military support and internal repression in Iran. 13:49 Ukraine is preparing for official steps to prove Russia's illegal presence in the UN Security Council, Kuleba said: "Russia has been poisoning the UN for many years, this is not a secret for anyone. Just as it poisons all the international organizations that Russia is a member of. takes the seat of a permanent member of the UN Security Council without proper legal grounds as a result of an openly fraudulent scheme that took place 31 years ago. Ukraine is now preparing for official steps that will prove the illegal presence of Russia in the UN Security Council and launch a political process that should lead to the deprivation of this seat. . The minister also accused the UN of being inactive in sending a mission to study Russia's use of Iranian drones: "Even when Russia was just starting to use Iranian "mopeds" for terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure, Ukraine and partners appealed to the UN to send a mission of experts to study of the use of Iranian drones by Russia. This is not just a mission, the fact is that the supply of Iranian-made drones to Russia violates the UN Security Council resolution of 2015, fixing the nuclear agreement with Iran." 13:30 The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland, Mariusz Kaminsky, said that he was informed about the dismissal of the deputy head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Dmitry Bondar, for presenting a gift, which subsequently exploded in the office of the head of the Polish police. According to him, criminal proceedings on this case have also been opened in Ukraine. 13:27 Freedom TV channel showed footage with Zelensky in Bakhmut. 13:00 In the Kiev region, the situation with electricity remains critical: without electricity - 80% of the region. The most difficult situation in Buchansky, Vyshgorodsky, Obukhovsky and partially Fastovsky districts is more than 30 communities, said Aleksey Kuleba, head of the OVA. 12:57 Putin in the Kremlin presented the "acting heads" of the "DPR" and "LPR" Pushilin and Pasechnik with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland of the highest degree, the "acting heads" of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions Balitsky and Saldo - the third degree. 12:51 Zelensky's press secretary Sergei Nikiforov confirmed his trip to Bakhmut: "He visited the front lines, awarded the fighters with distinctions and valuable gifts. The president has already left Bakhmut." 12:38 Zelensky arrived on an unannounced visit to Bakhmut , Freedom TV reported. 12:19 On the morning of December 20, a significant shortage of power in the energy system remains, Ukrenergo reported. Less than half of the needs are provided in the capital, the priority is the supply of critical infrastructure. It is expected that today it will be possible to turn on certain equipment that will increase the level of power supply reliability, reduce the power shortage in the capital's energy center and connect more consumers. 12:13 In the process of exchanging prisoners, the Russians divide people into "grades," said Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. Thus, position No. 1 in the anti-rating, according to him, is forcibly mobilized from the temporarily occupied territories. "And all the rest - an extremely difficult process begins. It is clear that officers are in high demand. As well as people with certain knowledge and skills. Many other things that we will not voice, so as not to harm. But the simpler the person for the rashists , the less interest in him," Yusov noted. 11:44 Governor of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Gladkov announced the shelling of Shebekino. According to him, there is a wounded man, the power supply is broken, the shells hit the warehouses on the territory of the industrial zone. Local publics write that shells hit TPPs and electrical substations. 10:58 The military threat from Belarus is gradually growing - there are already enough Russian troops there to carry out tactical actions, Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Sergei Naev said: "The level of military threat is gradually growing, but we are also taking adequate measures. In addition, the General Staff The Armed Forces of Ukraine provide for a significant increase in groupings in the event of a significant increase in forces and means from the opposite side. According to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the constant take-offs of Russian aviation from the territory of Belarus occur to clarify targets on the territory of Ukraine, intended for launching missile strikes. 10:30 British intelligence believes that Putin's recent visit to the Joint Headquarters of the troops involved in Ukraine, where he met with a number of high-ranking military officers, was supposed to demonstrate collective responsibility for the invasion of Ukraine. According to analysts, the Kremlin thus sought to relieve Putin of responsibility for the military failures of the Russian army in Ukraine, the high death rate and the growing public dissatisfaction with the mobilization. Also, the footage from this meeting, probably, should have dispelled rumors about the resignation of the head of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov. 10:28 US Congress has submitted a $1.7 trillion government funding bill providing $44.9 billion in additional emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies, writes Reuters. The leaders of the US Senate and House of Representatives are aimed at passing the bill and sending it to Biden before the end of the week in order to prevent disruptions in the work of the government. 10:08 Ukraine will receive more than 10,000 Starlinks in the near future, writes Bloomberg. The new batch will be used to stabilize the connection in critical situations. “SpaceX and Musk are quick to respond to issues and help us. Musk has assured us that he will continue to support Ukraine. When we had a massive outage, I wrote to him that day and he responded immediately and has already taken several steps. He understands the situation,” - said the Minister of Digital Information Mikhail Fedorov, adding that he spoke directly with Musk. 09:57 The IMF has approved a four-month program of financing Ukraine by donor countries. According to the fund, in 2023 Ukraine will need from 40 to 57 billion dollars of external financing to maintain economic stability in the conditions of war. Kyiv under the program committed to take measures to increase tax revenues, revitalize the domestic debt market and reform the financial sector. The program itself does not provide for the allocation of funds, but should facilitate their attraction from external sources. 09:32 The Russians over the past day fired at the territory of the Kherson region 42 times: two people were killed, three were injured, the head of the OVA, Yaroslav Yanushevich, said. 09:23 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, three civilians were killed - two in Bakhmut and one in Zhelezny. Five more people were injured in the region, Pavel Kirilenko, head of the OVA, said. 09:01 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of December 20.
08:34 The enemy continues to focus its efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut and Avdeevsky directions. He is trying to restore the lost position on Limansky and is defending in other directions. Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled attacks by invaders in the areas of the settlements of Stelmakhivka, Chervonopopovka and Serebryanskoye in the Luhansk region and Verkhnekamenskoye, Podgorodnoye, Bakhmut, Opytnoye, Kurdyumovka, Krasnogorovka and Maryinka in the Donetsk region, the General Staff said in a morning report . 08:21 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that during his trip to Minsk, Putin failed to influence Lukashenka and force him to go to war with Ukraine. According to analysts, the participation of Belarus in the war against Ukraine remains unlikely. The fact that Putin seems to have accepted Lukashenka's theses without convincing him to indirectly correct them confirms this assessment, experts say. ISW also draws attention to the fact that Putin and Lukashenko refrained from publicly discussing the Russian "special operation" in Ukraine, focusing on the Western threat to Belarus. 04:24 Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood, in his speech at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the 2015 resolution on the nuclear agreement with Iran, expressed disappointment that the UN has not launched an investigation into the use of Iranian drones by the Russian Federation: "We regret, that the UN has not taken steps to conduct a normal investigation into this violation. We are disappointed that the secretariat, apparently succumbing to Russian threats, has not fulfilled the mandate given to it by the Security Council to conduct an investigation." 03:56 The United States will closely monitor whether Belarus will provide additional assistance to the Kremlin in the war with Ukraine, and if this happens, new sanctions may be imposed against Minsk, State Department Speaker Ned Price said. He stressed that Washington will remain in contact with Kyiv on issues related to the role of Belarus in the Russian war. Price also commented on Putin's statement that Russia will not "absorb" any state: "The height of the irony is the fact that this phrase came from the lips of the leader of a country that is right now trying to forcibly absorb another of its peaceful neighbors." Posted by: badanov 2022-12-21 |
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