Russia-Ukraine updates: US to provide Kyiv $1.85bn in aid
All the updates from December 21, as they happened.
This blog is now closed. Thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday, December 21.
This blog is now closed. Thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday, December 21.
- US President’s Joe Biden administration says it will provide $1.85bn in military aid to Ukraine, rolling out funding for a Patriot missile battery during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington.
- Russian President Putin promises to fulfil the goals of the Kremlin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine at a meeting with his defence chiefs.
Russian politicians back long jail terms for ‘saboteurs’
Russian politicians have approved new legislation that could see “saboteurs” handed long jail terms, pointing to emerging “terrorist” threats, including from foreigners, amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow this year has introduced a host of legislative actions to quash any perceived threats at home against the Kremlin’s nearly 10-months long war.
The lower house of parliament said in a statement that legislators had approved in its third and final reading a package of measures aimed at “protecting our country and citizens from terrorist and sabotage threats”.
“The Russian Federation is conducting a special military operation and at the same time accepting refugees and remains open for the entry and exit of foreign citizens,” Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin was cited as saying in the statement, explaining the need for the laws.
Griner urges supporters to help Americans detained abroad
United States basketball star Brittney Griner called on her supporters to write letters to Paul Whelan, the former US marine held in Russia, days after she was released from a Russian penal colony as part of a prisoner swap.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist and eight-time Women’s National Basketball Association All-Star was arrested in February at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
Griner’s fans and fellow athletes mounted a campaign for her release and sent letters of support as she was subsequently convicted of drug smuggling and transferred to one of Russia’s most notorious penal colonies.
Biden, Zelenskyy express solidarity in White House meeting
Biden has welcomed Zelenskyy to the White House with renewed assurances of US support amid Russia’s continued onslaught on Ukraine.
“Thank you first of all,” Zelenskyy told the US president. “It’s a great honour to be here.”
Zelenskyy says he’s in Washington to thank US
Zelenskyy has said he was in Washington, DC to thank the US for its help in the war against Russia and would also hold talks to strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities.
“Next year, we must return the Ukrainian flag and freedom to our entire land, to all our people,” he said in a statement on Telegram alongside photos of him in the US.
Russia’s Wagner Group to recruit women
The Russian mercenary group fighting in Ukraine aims to recruit women jailed in Russia and deploy them to the front, the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, says.
“Not only nurses and communications staff but also in sabotage groups and sniper pairs,” the 61-year-old said, referring to World War II-era female sharpshooters hailed in Soviet propaganda. “Everyone knows this has been done before.”
“We’re getting there. There’s some resistance, but I think we’ll overcome it,” Prigozhin said on social media.
He was responding to a Russian official east of Moscow who said women imprisoned in the city of Nizhny Tagil had asked him to be sent to Ukraine to help the Russian army.
Zelenskyy arrives in US
The Ukrainian president has arrived in Washington, DC for a summit with Joe Biden and an address to Congress in a bid to shore up support for his country.
US to send $1.85bn in military aid to Ukraine
The White House has announced it will provide $1.85bn in military aid to Ukraine, with confirmation it will also send a Patriot missile battery, as Zelenskyy visits Washington, DC for his first trip out of Ukraine since Russia invaded in February.
The package includes $1bn in weapons and equipment from Pentagon stocks, including the Patriot battery, and $850m in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
Part of that money will be used to fund a satellite communications system, which likely will include the crucial SpaceX Starlink network system owned by Elon Musk.
Putin: Goals can be achieved without damaging economy
Putin says Russia can achieve the goals of what he calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine without damaging the economy by militarising it.
At an end-of-year conference of Russia’s top military chiefs, Putin said Moscow would improve its military forces steadily without undermining the quality of social services for Russians.
US to announce export controls on Iranian drones: Bloomberg
The US is expected to announce new export controls aimed at Iranian drones and drone parts that Russia has used in Ukraine, Bloomberg News reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg said the announcement of the export controls by the Biden administration will coincide with Zelenskyy’s trip to Washington, DC on Wednesday and could be part of a larger sanctions package.
Zelenskyy to address US Congress at 7:30pm in Washington
Zelenskyy will address the US Congress at 7:30pm (00:30 GMT on Thursday), House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a tweet.
Pelosi wrote: “It is with immense respect and admiration for his extraordinary leadership that I extend on behalf of bipartisan Congressional leadership an invitation for President Zelenskyy to address a Joint Meeting of Congress at 7:30 pm ET tonight”.
She added: “President Zelenskyy’s courageous, patriotic, indefatigable leadership has rallied not only his people, but the world, to join the frontlines of the fight for freedom. We look forward to hearing his inspiring message of unity, resilience and determination.”
It is with immense respect and admiration for his extraordinary leadership that I extend on behalf of bipartisan Congressional leadership an invitation for @ZelenskyyUa to address a Joint Meeting of Congress at 7:30 p.m. E.T. tonight.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 21, 2022
US ‘leader of the democratic world’, says Ukrainian adviser
Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, said the US is the “leader of the democratic world” as Zelenskyy visits Washington, DC for the first time since the war began.
Podolyak tweeted: “US is the undisputed leader of the democratic world. Ukraine is the undisputed leader today in defending this world’s values, freedom, competition, international law. It’s important to understand what still needs to be done for the authoritarian monster (Russia) to finally lose”.
🇺🇸 is the undisputed leader of the democratic world. 🇺🇦 is the undisputed leader today in defending this world’s values, freedom, competition, international law. It’s important to understand what still needs to be done for the authoritarian monster (Russia) to finally lose.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) December 21, 2022
Slovakia exempt from EU sanctions on Russian oil
Slovakia is exempt from European Union sanctions on Russian oil and will continue exporting oil products, including diesel, to energy-starved Ukraine, economy minister Karel Hirman said.
The country’s main refiner Slovnaft, part of Hungarian energy firm MOL, faced having to stop exporting products refined from Russian oil to most markets when the sanctions take effect on February 5.
But the exemption will permit Slovnaft to export oil products to Ukraine, which is facing severe electricity and heating shortages caused by Russian missile and drone attacks on critical infrastructure.
“We managed to negotiate an exemption for Slovakia, for Slovnaft from the sanctions regime, which takes effect after February 5,” Hirman told a televised news conference.
“Thanks to this exemption, Slovnaft will be able to export all oil products not only to the Czech Republic but also to Ukraine … which will help to stabilise the production and operating results of our Slovnaft refinery next year,” he said.
Sweden warns households over possible winter power cuts
Sweden’s government warns households and companies to prepare for possible winter power cuts amid a shortfall of energy in Europe after Russia reduced its gas exports.
“The risk of outages is real and Swedes must prepare themselves for this,” Minister for Civilian Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin told a news conference.
“Sweden has never been in this situation before,” he said.
Emergency plans must consider the possibility of short and more extended outages where power does not return as planned, the minister said.
“Those who under normal circumstances can take care of themselves, must also be able to do so in a crisis such as a power outage,” Bohlin said.
In case of an outage, households should designate a room in which the family can stay to preserve heat over time, the minister said.
“It’s better to be prepared than not. This is not an attempt at being alarmist,” Bohlin said.
Zelenskyy’s visit ‘hugely significant’: AJ correspondent
Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC says Zelenskyy will be in the US capital for a “few hours” but it is “hugely significant” that his first foreign visit is to the US.
“There’s been some talk over the past couple of days over the Ukrainians obtaining the Patriot missile defence systems from the US and that is going to happen,” he said.
“Zelenskyy will spend some time talking to Joe Biden; he will meet the national security team, as well. He will talk about the situation on the battleground and what help the United States can give economically, militarily and humanitarian issues, as well.”
Who controls what?
Here are four maps that we update daily, charting the latest war developments.
Military must be expanded to 1.5 million personnel: Russian defence minister
Russia’s defence minister says the military must be expanded from its current one million personnel to 1.5 million as the conflict is set to continue into 2023.
Sergei Shoigu said the number should include 695,000 volunteer contract soldiers.
He did not say when the military planned to reach the new number.
Shoigu added the Russian military would form new units in the country’s west because of plans by Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
Battlefield losses a ‘common tragedy’, says Putin
Putin says battlefield losses in Ukraine were “a common tragedy” and that he continues to see the Ukrainians as a “brotherly nation”.
Putin added Russia’s enemies wanted to see them disintegrate and repeated a claim that Russia was forced to launch their military action due to what he called Western “provocations”.
Zelenskyy’s visit comes at ‘very precarious time in the war’: US spokesperson
As Zelenskyy visits Washington, DC to meet the US president and ask for more weapons, the US national security spokesman has told MSNBC the visit comes at a “very very precarious time in the war”.
“We’re sort of in a new phase here as Russia continues to step up their air attacks on civilian infrastructure, civilian targets and the civilian population,” John Kirby said.
“I absolutely think that diplomacy will be on the agenda today. There’s no question about that. I suspect both leaders really want to talk about this idea of a just peace and what that looks like, and trying to find a diplomatic way to end this war.”
Kirby added that Putin had “no interest” in finding an end to the war and said the meeting would cement the kind of security assistance the US will provide to Ukraine.
Russian defence minister proposes raising age range for military service
Russia’s Shoigu has proposed raising the age range for mandatory military service to cover citizens aged 21-30 as he said forces would continue fighting in Ukraine next year.
Under the current law, Russians aged between 18-27 can be called up for mandatory military service but Shoigu and Putin have repeatedly said conscripts are not being sent to fight in Ukraine.
Speaking at an end-of-year conference with Russia’s military chiefs and Putin, Shoigu also said Russia was accelerating the deployment of modern weapons supplies to the army.
Defence ministry needs to listen to criticism, says Putin
Putin says the defence ministry needs to take on board criticism of its actions during the “special military operation” in Ukraine and that the recent mobilisation drive highlighted specific problems.
Defence minister Shoigu added that Russia’s forces were destroying Ukraine’s military potential and accused the West of trying to “drag out” the conflict.
Shoigu also said the mobilisation drive, which called up 300,000 Russian reservists, had been a severe test for the country and the army but had increased Russia’s combat capabilities.
Putin: No financial limit for armed forces
Putin promises to give the armed forces anything they ask to support his military campaign in Ukraine.
In a speech to defence chiefs in Moscow, Putin said there were no financial limits on what the government would provide its military.
He added that Russia needs to take special note of the importance of drones in the conflict and said its hypersonic Sarmat missile, known as “Satan II”, would be ready for deployment soon.
Putin heralds soldiers ‘heroes’
Putin has heralded Russia’s soldiers and defence chiefs as “heroes” in a speech in Moscow.
Putin also said NATO was using its full capabilities against Russia and urged the assembled military leaders to use their experience gained fighting in Syria and during Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
What will further Western weapons mean for the war? | Inside Story
Zelenskyy travels to the US to ask for more weapons as Russia continues to hit critical infrastructure.
Al Jazeera’s Inside Story speaks to experts on how the influx of Western weapons will change the war.
Air raid sirens heard across Ukraine
Air raid alerts were activated across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, warning of possible Russian air raids.
Local authorities urged the public to find and take safe shelter until the all-clear is given.
Kremlin warns against more US weapons for Ukraine
The Kremlin warns that increasing the supply of US arms to Kyiv will aggravate the war and “does not bode well” for Ukraine.
“Weapon supplies [by the US] continue, the assortment of supplied weapons is expanding. All this, of course, leads to an aggravation of the conflict and, in fact, does not bode well for Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov’s comments were the first official Russian reaction to the news that Zelenskyy was heading to Washington, DC for a summit with Biden.