Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the disputed annexation of Ukrainian territories Wednesday as a vital navy victory, saying it has made the Sea of Azov an inland sea for Russia.
The Sea of Azov borders Ukraine and Russia, however Putin illegally annexed land on Ukraine’s facet. Putin, talking with members of his Human Rights Council, stated even Peter the Great fought for entry to the ocean centuries in the past.
And he stated the current sham referendums within the annexed territories proved residents need to be a part of Russia. Still, Putin acknowledged the “special military operation” he refuses to call a war “may very well be a prolonged course of.”
Putin dismissed concerns that he would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, calling them a deterrent. He has stated Russia will use “all available means” to guard its territory, together with the annexed areas of Ukraine.
“We haven’t gone mad,” he said Wednesday. “We are fully aware of what nuclear weapons are.”
UKRAINE STRIKES RUSSIA:US says it ‘neither encouraged nor enabled’ drone attacks
Other developments:
►The number of civilian casualties in Ukraine may be three times higher than the U.N. estimate, Fredrik Wesslau, the outgoing deputy head of the European Union Advisory Mission in Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent.
►A major increase in people trying to learn Ukrainian has been the year’s most notable trend, according to the language app Duolingo, which registered more than 1.3 million such instances since the war began in late February. The spike was driven in part by interest in countries that have taken in a large number of Ukrainian refugees.
►At least 16 people were killed when a truck carrying military personnel collided with a minibus in a Russian-controlled area of the hotly contested Donetsk region of Ukraine, Russian authorities said.
►The European Union on Wednesday proposed travel bans and asset freezes on almost 200 more Russian officials and military officers as part of a new round of sanctions.
►The Help Ukraine Center, a group of volunteers that brings in aid through its main warehouse in neighboring Poland, appealed to donors on its website: “NO MORE CLOTHES PLEASE.” The middle nonetheless seeks medical merchandise, meals and hygiene merchandise.
Putin tries to quash reports of another mobilization, complaints about first one
In his televised comments Wednesday, Putin tried to shoot down rumors of a second mobilization of reservists and said, “There is no need for the Defense Ministry and the country to do that.”
A Washington think tank says that’s an attempt at appeasing the public and controlling war information after the first mobilization in September generated outcries and prompted hundreds of thousands of Russian men to flee the country.
The Institute for the Study of War says Putin is also trying to keep draftees and their families from complaining about the conscription, which was dogged by reports that the new soldiers were poorly trained and equipped and that many ineligible men were forced into service.
Putin “signed a legislation banning rallies in authorities buildings, universities, colleges, hospitals, ports, practice stations, church buildings, and airports – more likely to suppress riots and protests amongst mobilized males and their households,” the institute stated, including that reviews of one other mobilization in 2023 have been persistent.
Russia appears to be like to Iran once more to spice up its dwindling arsenal
Russia is as soon as once more turning to Iran as a supplier of weaponry to spice up a diminished arsenal, elevating concerns in regards to the ramifications of their elevated cooperation, in accordance with two officers accustomed to the matter
Particularly worrisome to the U.S. is the likelihood Iran might promote Russia surface-to-surface missiles, along with the drones Moscow is looking for to amass for its continued assault on Ukraine, stated a National Security Council official who spoke to the Associated Press on situation of anonymity.
Shahed drones the Kremlin obtained from Iran have performed a serious position in Russia’s marketing campaign to destroy Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, though Kyiv’s forces have gotten more proficient at taking pictures them down.
A United Nations diplomat who additionally requested anonymity advised the AP that Iran intends to promote Russia a whole lot of missiles and drones in violation of the 2015 Security Council decision that endorsed the nuclear deal between Tehran and 6 main powers. Russia was one in every of them, elevating the query of what it will be offering Iran in change for the weapons.
The rising navy ties between the 2 international locations may have “massive implications for security of the region,” the diplomat stated.
One-third of Ukrainians pushed from properties, most out of nation
One-third of Ukrainians have been pushed from their properties and the dimensions of civilian casualties and infrastructure injury is “shocking,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Wednesday. Türk, talking from Ukraine on the finish of a four-day go to, stated 6.5 million Ukrainians have fled their properties for shelter throughout the battered nation of greater than 40 million individuals. Another 7.8 million Ukrainians have been recorded as refugees throughout Europe, he stated.
Türk stated a brand new report paperwork the “willful” killings of 441 civilians in three northern regions that include Kyiv during the first several weeks of the war, homicides that likely constituted a “struggle crime.”
“I fear that there is one long, bleak winter ahead for Ukraine,” Türk stated. “The consequences of the war on the enjoyment of human rights for people in the country have already been devastating, and the prognosis is very worrying.”
Freezing temperatures and lack of warmth and operating water due to bomb-damaged infrastructure have sharply raised the chance for individuals already weak throughout Ukraine, he stated, amongst them the aged, the very younger, the poor and the sick.
“My plea is to everyone engaged in hostilities to respect (humanitarian law) fully, especially in the most difficult, most emotional circumstance,” he stated, including that “a violation by one party does not legitimize violations by another.”
Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, claimed Ukraine needed to destroy Russians “so that they stop existing as a country.” He defended the missile and drone assaults on cities, saying assaults focused infrastructure used for navy functions.
Time names Zelenskyy its particular person of the yr
Time Magazine named Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy its person of the year, saying, “This year’s choice was the most clear-cut in memory.” The magazine said Zelenskyy “galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades” and praised his decision not to flee Kyiv after Russia’s invasion Feb. 24.
“From his first 40-second Instagram post on Feb. 25 – showing that his Cabinet and civil society were intact and in place – to daily speeches delivered remotely to the likes of houses of Parliament, the World Bank, and the Grammy Awards, Ukraine’s President was everywhere,” Time wrote. “His information offensive shifted the geopolitical weather system, setting off a wave of action that swept the globe.”
Russia broadcaster wants military to target Kyiv’s Maidan Square
Popular Russian broadcaster Alexander Sladkov urged the Russian military to strike the center of Kyiv “for the sake of peace in the Donbas.” Sladkov suggested attacks target Maidan Square, home to the Independence Monument that honors Ukraine’s liberation from the Soviet Union in 1991. Sladkov said efforts to enter into negotiations aimed at a cease-fire in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces of the industrial Donbas will remain futile until Kyiv feels the full effect of Moscow’s might.
“Until we make mincemeat of the center of Kyiv, the shelling of Donetsk will not stop,” he said.
NATO expects major Russian offensive in spring
Russia is trying to “freeze” the war to regroup its troops over the winter months before starting a “major offensive” in the spring, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday. He said NATO would continue the supply of arms and support to Ukraine despite concerns that Western weaponry stockpiles could be depleted.
Stoltenberg said he had no information on Ukraine’s apparent drone strikes into Russia but said Kyiv was fighting to protect itself as Moscow bombards civilian infrastructure.
“They need a vast amount of ammunition, spare parts and also maintenance,” Stoltenberg said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
