Published December 14, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Russians that peace with Ukraine will only take place “when we achieve our objectives”.
He is holding his first major news conference since he launched his first full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Mr Putin has combined his annual “direct line” phone-in with Russians with an audience of journalists.
The annual event did not take place last year.
Much of the first part of this marathon event has been focused on what Mr Putin calls the “special military operation in Ukraine”.
His initial thoughts addressed the importance of Russian sovereignty. “The existence of our country without sovereignty is impossible. It will simply not exist,” he told state-controlled Channel One host Yekaterina Berezovskaya.
Mr Putin said Russia’s economy was strong for a time of war and the topic of conversation quickly moved to Ukraine.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
RELATED: Russian missile attack on Kyiv wounds at least 53 as Ukraine pleads for more European support
Published December 14, 2023
KYIV, Ukraine: A barrage of Russian missiles targeted Kyiv on Wednesday, wounding at least 53 people, officials said, as the Ukrainian president sought more military support in Europe after a trip to Washington secured no new pledges.
Loud explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital at 3 a.m. as the city’s air defenses were activated for the second time this week. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 10 ballistic missiles toward Kyiv and all were intercepted by air defenses, but their debris struck homes and a children’s hospital.
The attack underscored the continuing threat to Ukraine from the Kremlin’s missile arsenal in the 21-month war. Russia has been stockpiling its air-launched cruise missiles from its heavy bomber fleet, according to a recent assessment by the UK Ministry of Defense.
That may herald another heavy winter bombardment of Ukraine’s power grid. Moscow last year targeted energy infrastructure in an effort to deny Ukrainians heat, light and running water and break their fighting spirit.
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SOURCE: www.arabnews.com
RELATED: Russia has lost nearly 90% of its troops in Ukraine war: US intel report
Russia-Ukraine War: Ukrainian soldiers practice on a tank during military training in Ukraine.(AP)
Published December 13, 2023
A declassified US intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops- nearly 90% of the personnel it had when the conflict began. The report also claimed that Moscow’s losses in personnel and armored vehicles to Ukraine’s military have set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years, news agency Reuters reported.
Russian officials have said that Western estimates of death tolls in the war are vastly exaggerated and always underestimate Ukrainian losses.
The report assessed that Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with 360,000 personnel. Since then, the report found, 315,000 Russian troops, or about 87% of the total soldiers, have been killed or injured.
“Those losses are the reason Russia has loosened recruitment standards for deployment in Ukraine,” Reuters reported.
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SOURCE: www.hindustantimes.com
