The Blogging of Webster 582

In the early months of the full-scale invasion, Russia captured a number of power plants as the army occupied territory in the south and east of the country, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, syphoning off a segment of Ukraine’s energy production capability. They had finished a long day repairing damaged electricity lines along one of the region’s pockmarked and war-worn roads when they moved into an open field to hoist up a repaired electricity pole. It had barely been lodged into place before they heard the familiar crack of incoming Russian mortars that began to pummel the earth around them. They quickly realised that Russian troops must have seen the pole appear above the tree line and had unleashed a volley of shells in their direction.
The sanctions also prohibit U.S. citizens and companies from conducting any transactions with the designated parties. Still, France’s defense industry is one of the largest in the world and might be well positioned in the race to provide Ukraine with more weapons. The French firm Nexter Systems, for instance, produces long-range Caesar cannons that have already been donated to Ukraine, as well as 155-millimeter ammunition that Kyiv’s forces badly need. A spokeswoman for Mr. Lecornu said that he would not participate in the forum on Friday, but that the delegation from the French defense industry would. The event has been billed as an opportunity to discuss weapons technology and joint production, which would be potentially important for Ukraine’s economy and lucrative for defense industry contractors. The logic behind bringing industry representative was that over time, he said, there would be fewer weapons transfers and more sales — sometimes with subsidies.



"Our soldiers are blocked, the wounded are blocked. There is a humanitarian crisis ... Nevertheless, the guys are defending themselves." Russia says it has seized the urban area of Mariupol and only a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters remain inside the steelworks in the besieged southern port, according to a report from Reuters. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that Ukrainian forces have been driven out of most of the city and remain only in the huge Azovstal steel mill. Russia's Black Sea flagship Moskva sank after it was struck by two Ukrainian Neptune missiles, the Pentagon now believes. Ukraine said earlier this week that it hit the Moskva with missiles; Russia then said that the ship was the victim of an ammunition explosion. If Russian Pantsirs or other trucks do need tires, getting them out to broken down vehicles in the face of Ukranian shoulder-fired missiles, road ambushes, obstacles and muddy roads is obviously a long haul.
Kyiv said it had received intelligence that Russia is planning to deploy soldiers from its elite military units along with personnel from its Federal Security Service – a successor intelligence agency to Russia’s infamous KGB – to continue its assault on the Azovstal steel plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday warned residents in regions to the south and west of Donetsk against providing personal information to Russian soldiers. "I think we are likely to see a very significant increase in the intensity of Russian military attacks in the east, I think we are likely to see an intensification of Russian military attacks along the coast." The U.S. Agency for International Development has announced that it will invest $131 million to Ukraine to help "the Ukrainian people and to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience, democracy, economy, and healthcare systems."

"I am a re-settler. My relatives lived there on occupied territory. And it's all over again." Perhaps feeling the pressure of Russia being targeted by increasing international scorn and his troops' advance being slowed by fierce resistance from Ukrainian fighters, President Vladimir Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert on Sunday. Its defense ministry said the first contract will focus on fixing T-64 Soviet-era tanks. A senior defense official on Tuesday warned that Russia is "still refitting units" and tactical groups continue to enter the country as Moscow looks to target eastern Ukraine.
Then, proceed to Ukrainian passport control and then Ukrainian customs and you're through. It used to be a nightmare, with apocryphal tales of 5-6+ hours at the border, but the Ukrainians have made great advances in efficiency with a 1-2 hour border crossing now possible. Destitute and desparate people with few possessions – often from war torn countries like Syria, Yemen and Somalia – have become political footballs in a clash between Finland and Estonia against Russia at the borders of the western alliance. Finland’s prime minister Petteri Orpo said the country will shut three border crossings – leaving just one open in its 1,340km border with Russia – after Helsinki accused the Kremlin of pushing hundreds of asylum seekers to the border in recent weeks.
"But as the fight in the south and east of the country continues, that's a different kind of terrain." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the country's troops are ready for an escalation by Russia in the breakaway Moldovan state Видалення каталізатора Transnistria, which he said Russia is trying to destabilize. "That is why the IAEA is in Ukraine and will continue its work," Grossi said. "Today, we agreed to provide assistance and special work to restore the capacity of the damaged infrastructure."

Multiple fires are burning in several residential neighborhoods in Kherson after "mass strike" by Russian forces in the early evening on Dec. 23, the head of the city's military administration announced on Telegram. Russian forces attacked Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's Nikopol district with artillery and kamikaze drones on Dec. 23, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. An explosion at a Lviv home has likely killed three people and injured at least four, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi reported on Dec. 23. An unknown attacker threw a training grenade at BBC News Russian Service journalists holding a party at a bar in central Riga on the evening of Dec. 23, according to independent Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta, citing a witness report.
“The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” read the post, quoting Zelensky. In basements in Kyiv, Ukraine, civilians mix Molotov cocktails and otherwise prepare to fend off Russia’s invasion. Russians “have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance,” a senior U.S. Shops were closed, nervous reservists clutched battered AK-47s in the streets, and improvised checkpoints made of piled-up tires sprang up to slow anticipated Russian infiltration. The Defense Ministry is considering sending military summons online for Ukrainians both at home and abroad, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told Suspilne. Poland's new Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has urged western allies to further develop plans for long-term military production amid Russia's onslaught of aggression in Europe, the Polish Foreign Minister said in an interview with The Guardian on Dec. 23.

In the past month, Ukraine’s forces have retaken more than 600 towns and villages that were under Russian occupation, including 75 in the Kherson region, Ukraine’s Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories said in a statement. MOSCOW — In an apparent move to solidify Moscow’s hold over European energy markets, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Thursday offered to export more gas via Turkey and turn the country into a regional supply hub for Russian gas exports to European countries. Russia’s attacks have targeted civilian infrastructure, including electrical lines, and have included areas away from the front lines as well as cities that have been struck repeatedly throughout the seven-month war.
The update also underscored that “even amongst Russian officials there is likely a low level of understanding about total casualty figures because of a long-established culture of dishonest reporting within the military”. In his rationale for the move, Radev highlighted an oversight of the vehicles’ role in safeguarding Bulgaria’s borders and aiding citizens during emergencies and disasters. Novinite also said Radev believed that parliamentarians lacked a “comprehensive understanding of the specificities of the donation”, reducing their ability to “thoroughly evaluate the necessity” of the equipment. Members of the Russian forces involved in the “execution” of two Ukrainian soldiers who emerged from their trench near the town of Avdiivka and were shot dead as they surrendered, have been killed.
Alyona Kolotiy, right, sits with her son Denis, 7, in the basement of Ohmadyt Children’s Hospital during an air raid alarm in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Individual member states would be able to contribute, including by taking in Ukrainians for specialized training or by sending mobile units of trainers to Poland or Germany. Countries will not participate because of constitutionally enshrined military neutrality, the diplomats added. Some member states hesitated out of fear that the mission would increase the risks of becoming embroiled in the war, diplomats said, but eventually relented. Energy experts, however, questioned the viability of Mr. Putin’s proposal, saying that it seemed unlikely that the European Union would approve new Russian gas conduits to Europe.