Boris Johnson backs Christmas appeal to send medical supplies to Ukraine
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According to the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD), the city of Kherson continues to be battered by Russian airstrikes on a daily basis, despite being liberated by Ukrainian forces earlier this month.
“The city is vulnerable because it remains within range of most of Russia’s artillery systems, which are now firing from the east bank of the Dnipro River, from behind newly consolidated defensive lines,” he said the Ministry of Defense in its daily intelligence update.
The ministry added that 10 people were killed in a single day on November 24.
It comes as Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Ukrainians to prepare for more Russian missile strikes that would further damage the power grid amid freezing temperatures.
“We understand that the terrorists are planning new strikes. We know this for sure,” the Ukrainian president said in his evening video address.
“And as long as they have missiles, unfortunately, they’re not going to calm down.”
Ukrainian authorities continue to struggle to restore electricity and water services after recent blows from Russian military strikes that badly damaged infrastructure, and Mr Zelensky says millions of people have seen their power restored.
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The Kremlin denies that Russia plans to abandon the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The Kremlin spokesman on Monday denied reports that Russian forces were planning to abandon Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, telling reporters they should not look for signs where there are none.
Emily Atkinson November 28, 2022 10:35 am
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The Kremlin “accepts the Vatican’s offer to mediate negotiations with Kyiv”
The Kremlin says it welcomed an offer from the Vatican to provide a negotiating platform to resolve the Ukraine conflict, but that Kyiv’s position made that impossible.
Pope Francis reiterated 10 days ago that the Vatican was ready to do everything possible to mediate and end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
Emily Atkinson November 28, 2022 10:05 am
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Russian forces ‘begin withdrawal from Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said he has no doubt that Russian forces would leave the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, where Ukrainian personnel still operate.
“The defense line is starting to retreat towards the borders of the Russian Federation,” Podolyak told Ukrainian broadcasters, adding that Ukraine would “return it (the plant)”.
Emily Atkinson November 28, 2022 9:33 am
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US weighs sending 100-mile strike weapon to Ukraine
The Pentagon is considering a proposal from Boeing to supply Ukraine with small, cheap precision bombs mounted on abundant rockets, which would allow Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines as the West struggles to meet demand for more weapons.
US and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces a growing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on. Boeing’s proposed system, called the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of about half a dozen plans to produce new munitions for Ukraine and America’s Eastern European allies, sources in the sector
GLSDB could be delivered by spring 2023, according to a document reviewed by Reuters and three people familiar with the plan. It combines the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) with the M26 rocket motor, both of which are common in US inventories.
Doug Bush, the US military’s top arms buyer, told Pentagon reporters last week that the military was also looking to speed up production of 155-millimeter artillery shells, which currently they are only manufactured at government facilities, allowing defense contractors to build them.
The invasion of Ukraine boosted demand for US-made weapons and ammunition, while US allies in Eastern Europe are “placing a lot of orders” for a range of weapons while supplying Ukraine, Bush added.
“It’s about getting quantity at a cheap cost,” said Tom Karako, an arms and security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said falling U.S. inventories help explain the rush to get more weapons now, saying stockpiles “are going down relative to the levels that we like to have on hand and certainly the levels that we’re going to need to deter conflict in China.”
Karako also noted that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan made many air-dropped bombs available. They cannot easily be used with Ukrainian aircraft, but “in the current context we should be looking for innovative ways to convert them into stopping capability.”
Maryam Zakir-Hussain 28 November 2022 09:07
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Gazprom to preserve Nord Stream gas pumping equipment – Kommersant
Russian company Gazprom plans to preserve gas pumping equipment at the Portovaya and Slavyanskaya compressor stations that supply the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources.
According to Kommersant, Gazprom plans to keep the equipment at the stations and not move it to other locations.
Kommersant said Gazprom declined to comment on its report.
None of the Nord Stream pipelines, laid on the bed of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, currently carry gas.
Nord Stream 1 was shut down for repairs on August 31 and never restarted, while Nord Stream 2 was never launched after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both lines were then damaged in what the European authorities have described as an act of sabotage.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain 28 November 2022 08:42
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A large nuclear power plant in Ukraine remains under Russian control – the authorities installed by Russia
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine remains under Russian control, Moscow-installed authorities in the nearby town of Enerhodar said on Monday, after a Ukrainian official suggested Russian forces were preparing to to leave.
“The media is actively spreading false news that Russia allegedly plans to withdraw from Enerhodar and abandon the (plant). This information is not true,” the Russian-installed administration wrote in the Telegram messaging app.
The head of Ukraine’s state-run nuclear power company said on Sunday there were signs Russian forces may be preparing to evacuate the large Zaporizhzhia plant they seized in March shortly after invading Ukraine.
Ukraine, which suffered the world’s worst nuclear accident at Chornobyl in 1986, and Russia have accused each other of bombing the site of the Zaporizhzhia reactor complex.
Both sides have warned of the danger of a nuclear catastrophe. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency), wants to create a protection zone around the nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said late Sunday that he had no doubt that Russian forces would leave the plant, where Ukrainian personnel still operate. Many of these workers live in Enerhodar.
“The defense line is starting to retreat towards the borders of the Russian Federation,” Podolyak told Ukrainian television, adding that Ukraine would “return it (the plant)”.
The Ukrainian military said on Monday that its forces late last week destroyed six units of Russian military equipment and that about 30 Russian servicemen were wounded in fighting near Enerhodar.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin moved in September to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, where his forces say they have partial control. Kyiv and its Western allies condemned the move as illegal.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain 28 November 2022 08:24
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Kherson suffers a daily bombardment, despite the liberation- MoD
Despite being liberated on November 11, the city of Kherson continues to be battered by Russian shelling on a daily basis, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
“The city is vulnerable because it remains within range of most of Russia’s artillery systems, which are now firing from the east bank of the Dnipro River, from behind newly consolidated defensive lines,” said the UK Defense Intelligence.
The ministry added that 10 people were killed in a single day on November 24.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain 28 November 2022 08:04
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14 years later, NATO will renew a vote in Ukraine
NATO returns this Tuesday to the stage of one of its most controversial decisions, with the intention of repeating its vow that Ukraine, now suffering the tenth month of war against Russia, will one day join the largest military alliance in the world.
NATO foreign ministers will meet for two days at the Palace of Parliament in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. It was there in April 2008 that US President George W. Bush convinced his allies to open NATO’s door to Ukraine and Georgia, over vehement Russian objections.
”NATO welcomes the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia for NATO membership. Today we agreed that these countries will become members of NATO,” the leaders said in a statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was at the summit, described this as “a direct threat” to the security of Russia About four months later, Russian forces invaded Georgia.
Some experts describe Bucharest’s decision as a massive mistake that left Russia feeling cornered by an apparently ever-expanding NATO.
NATO counters that it does not pressure countries to join and that some applied to join for protection from Russia, as Finland and Sweden are now doing.
More than 14 years later, NATO will this week commit to long-term support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian air, missile and ground attacks, many of which have hit power grids and other civilian infrastructure, depriving millions of electricity people ..