A Wall Street Journal investigation claims that someone close to Putin ordered the death last August of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former rebel leader of Wagner, the Kremlin's private militia.
Three Russian bombers were shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force, with a Russian military blogger citing the use of the US-supplied Patriot air defense system.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan finally agreed that Londoners should send Ukrainians off-road vehicles that no longer meet environmental standards to operate in the British capital.
The Russian liquefied natural gas industry, Russia's top energy destination in the coming years, is stagnating in the Arctic amid Western sanctions that prevent it from securing the delivery of LNG tankers necessary for exports.
This morning we return to the significant events related to the war in Ukraine that were observed during the night.
Also read: Update for Friday December 22nd
A close friend of Putin's was involved in Prigozhin's death
A Wall Street Journal investigation aims to shed light on the far-reaching affair surrounding the assassination of Yevgeny Prigoyine, the former head of Russia's Wagner militia, and Vladimir Putin's responsibilities in the matter.
According to US media, it is a close friend of the Russian president and secretary of the Russian Security Council who is responsible for the spectacular death of Prigozhin, whose private jet exploded shortly after takeoff at the end of August. Nikolai Patrushev is said to have given the order with the approval of Vladimir Putin ” Discard ” of the Russian president's former close friend by planting an explosive on one wing of the plane.
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Since the fall of 2022, Prigozhin, buoyed by the success of his mercenary militia in Ukraine, which allowed Putin to avoid an unpopular mobilization of his population, grew in confidence and openly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry.
In late June 2023, Wagner's boss led an open rebellion against the ministry and promised to march on Moscow. After negotiations, he abandoned his attempt at insurrection and appeared to escape reprisals… before dying brutally in late August. The Kremlin denied any involvement and accused the Wall Street Journal of pushing a conspiracy theory.
Ukraine claims to have shot down three Russian fighter-bombers
The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down three Russian fighter-bombers in the south of the country this Friday. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this happened in the Kherson region, where fighting is raging, the French media agency reported.
“Three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers were shot down in the southern operational area this afternoon.”, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk announced via Telegram. In his speech on Friday evening, President Zelensky made it clear that these planes had been shot down by missiles and expressed his willingness to do so “Grateful to our soldiers who destroyed three Russian Sukhoi aircraft at once. In the south – in our Kherson region ».
The Air Force has not clarified the fate of the pilots of the planes. Russian authorities did not immediately confirm the incident. But the influential Russian military blog Fighterbomber reported “Combat Losses” In his opinion, this is due to the Patriot air defense system supplied by the United States.
Reconditioned off-road vehicles for Ukraine
The mayor of London has pledged to support the shipment to Ukraine of four-wheel drive vehicles and other vehicles that would otherwise be scrapped, British media The Independent reported.
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After doubting the possibility of setting up such a system, Sadiq Khan finally asked the British Transport Secretary to allow citizens, especially Londoners, to use their vehicles under car scrapping programs that would exceed emission limits Do not comply with harmful substances to donate to Ukraine.
For its part, the British media The Telegraph announced that the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, wrote a letter to his London counterpart last September to propose this idea. There is currently no mechanism to enable this export, which requires significant logistical effort.
Sanctions are undermining the Russian hospitality space
Russia hopes its liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments will offset a sharp decline in pipeline gas exports to Europe, but a shortage of LNG tankers and sanctions are slowing its plans, Canadian-British news agency Portal reported.
The country wants to increase its share of the liquefied natural gas market from the current 8% to 20% by 2030. However, Novatek, the main producer, warned of a case of force majeure, a legal term for an unforeseeable event that severely affects an activity.
Also read: War in Ukraine. After a 2 km advance that costs 20,000 dead and wounded, Russia stops at Avdiivka
Since the manufacturer wants to export its LNG via the new routes opened up by climate change in the Arctic, it needs a full fleet of tankers (around twenty) that can withstand icebergs or even break through layers of ice. “At least two.” meters thick.
While some LNG tankers are almost finished despite delivery delays and are scheduled to hit the road at the end of 2024, others, more ambitious because they are able to withstand even more extreme conditions, will have to cancel construction in the coming years due to Western sanctions.