UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Le Figaro summarizes the latest information from journalists, Ukrainian and Russian statements, Western sources and international organizations.
Ukraine is suffering from massive bombing, eight dead in Ukrainian attacks, Putin is preparing Russia for a long war, according to NATO… Le Figaro this Friday, December 16, takes stock of the latest information on the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine is suffering from massive bombings, power outages are multiplying
Ukraine suffered fresh Russian missile attacks on Friday morning, causing water shortages in the capital Kyiv and power outages across the country. Moscow was determined to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure. According to the regional governor, at least two people died during a strike in a residential building in Kryvyï Rig (south).
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According to the Ukrainian authorities, “about 40 missiles” Russian targets Friday Kyiv, of which 37 were shot down by anti-aircraft defenses. They did not state what damage the others caused. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the damage to energy infrastructure caused “disruptions to water supplies in all areas of the capital.”
Whole parts of the country were again without electricity. “The Kirovograd region (central) is completely without electricity,” complained its governor Andriï Raikovych. The country’s second largest city, Kharkiv (northeast), was in darkness, as was Poltava (centre). According to Governor Oleksandre Staroukh, several strikes were also directed against the Zaporijjia region (south).
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The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, condemned Russia’s rocket attacks on Ukraine as a war crime and denounced “another example of the Kremlin’s blind terror”.
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Eight dead in Ukrainian strikes in Lugansk region
Russian occupation authorities in the Lugansk region (east) accused Ukrainian forces of artillery fire on two locations on Friday morning, killing eight and injuring 23.
“Early this morning, nationalist artillery fire was aimed at the town of Stakhanov and the village of Lanratovka in the Troitsky district. Eight people died, 23 of us were injured,” said Russian regional leader Leonid Passetchnik.
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According to NATO, Putin is preparing Russia for a long war in Ukraine
Russia is preparing for a long war against Ukraine, in which NATO allies must continue to supply weapons until President Vladimir Putin realizes he “cannot win on the battlefield,” alliance leader Jens Stoltenberg told AFP on Friday.
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Nearly ten months after Moscow’s invasion of its pro-Western neighbor, Ukrainian forces inflicted a series of defeats on the Kremlin that liberated entire regions. But “nothing indicates that Putin has given up his goal of controlling Ukraine,” warned the NATO Secretary General. “We should not underestimate Russia. It is preparing for a long war,” Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with AFP. “We see that they are mobilizing more forces, that they are also willing to take a lot of casualties, that they are trying to get access to more weapons and ammunition,” he said. “We have to understand that President Putin is ready to be in this war for a long time and to launch new offensives,” he said.
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Russia says it will not use biological weapons
Russia will not use biological weapons, a senior Russian diplomat said at a news conference in Geneva on Friday. Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Department of Non-Proliferation and Arms Control at the Russian Foreign Ministry, dismissed fears that Russia might use these weapons. “It’s not an issue at all,” he told a group of reporters.
Russia is “fully committed to its obligations” related to international treaties prohibiting their use. “We have no programs in the military sphere related to biological weapons,” the diplomat claimed, adding: “All our activities in the biological sphere are strictly for peaceful purposes and nothing more.”
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Konstantin Vorontsov spoke on the sidelines of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) review, which takes place every 5 years and is scheduled to end on Friday after three weeks of work. The convention prohibits the development, production and stockpiling of this entire category of weapons of mass destruction.
Croatian parliament refuses to train Ukrainian soldiers
The Croatian government on Friday failed to persuade parliament to welcome Ukrainian soldiers for training in the Balkan country after controversial debates. The European Union has announced the launch of the largest military training mission in its history, aimed at training and training 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in different member states to help them fight against Russia. The issue has divided the political class of the small EU and NATO member state.
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President Zoran Milanovic has repeatedly expressed opposition to the plan, arguing that it would “engage Croatia in the war more than necessary”. “It means bringing war to Croatia. We are fair and united and that is all,” said the president, whose role is honorary but who is the chief of the army. Conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, whose government supports the admission of around 100 Ukrainian soldiers, accused the president of “pro-Russian views”. The decision boils down to “choosing between Ukraine and the regime (of Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” he pounded.
Vladimir Putin will visit Belarus on Monday
The Presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, are meeting in Minsk on Monday for a summit intended to further strengthen their alliance. The meeting will take place in the Palace of Independence in Minsk, specifies the Belarusian press service. According to Lukashenko, Monday’s summit will be “mainly devoted to the economic sphere,” but the two leaders will also talk about “the politico-military situation in our countries.”
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Belarus, Russia’s only ally in that war, had lent its territory to facilitate the Russian attack on Kyiv early in the invasion. But faced with Ukrainian resistance, the Kremlin had to decide to abandon the Ukrainian capital. In mid-October, Belarus and Russia announced the creation of a joint military force, which Minsk says has a purely “defensive” purpose.