Russia-Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy says ‘won’t wait for miracle’
All the updates from December 24, 2022 as they happened.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on Saturday, December 24:
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on Saturday, December 24:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is creating its own miracle this Christmas by standing defiantly against Russia.
- At least 10 people have been killed and another 58 wounded by a Russian attack on the centre of Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson.
- Russian authorities in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol have begun demolishing most of the city’s drama theatre, where Ukrainian authorities say hundreds died in an air bombardment in March.
- President Vladimir Putin has told Russia’s defence industry chiefs to up their game to ensure that the army quickly got all the weapons, equipment and military hardware needed to fight in Ukraine.
Kuleba thanks Blinken for ‘tireless work’ mobilising support for Ukraine
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has thanked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for his “tireless work” in support of Ukraine.
Kuleba’s tweet followed a speech in which the US official renewed Washington’s commitment to stand with Kyiv as it battles the ongoing Russian invasion.
Thank you @SecBlinken for these kind words and your tireless work to mobilize support for Ukraine this year. It was an honor to have you as a special guest of Ukrainian Ambassadors Conference 2022. Merry Christmas to your family and all Americans. https://t.co/Cvnm17xMK9
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) December 24, 2022
Pope urges Catholics to remember the war weary on Christmas Eve
Pope Francis has urged the world’s Catholics to remember the war weary and the poor in an apparent reference to Ukraine and other conflicts on Christmas Eve.
“Men and women in our world, in their hunger for wealth and power, consume even their neighbours, their brothers and sisters,” he said at a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City.
“How many wars have we seen? And in how many places, even today, are human dignity and freedom treated with contempt.”
Earlier this month, the pope urged people to spend less on Christmas celebrations and gifts and send the difference to Ukrainians to help them get through the winter.
Moscow blames pro-Kyiv forces for Kherson attack
The Russian-installed governor in Kherson has accused Kyiv of being behind the shelling that killed at least 10 people earlier on Saturday.
“This is a disgusting provocation with the obvious aim of blaming the Russian armed forces,” Volodymyr Saldo wrote on Telegram.
Russia controls most but not all of the Kherson region. The city of Kherson was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in November in a major blow to the Russian military.
Ukrainian presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko said the attack came from a grad multiple rocket launcher.
Ukraine will create its own Christmas miracle: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainians will create their own miracle this Christmas by remaining unbowed despite Russian attacks targeting key infrastructure.
“Even in complete darkness, we will find each other to hug each other tightly. And if there is no heat, we will embrace each other for a long time to warm one another,” Zelenskyy said.
“We will smile and be happy, as always. There is one difference – we will not wait for a miracle, since we are creating it ourselves,” he added.
Zelenskyy made his remarks in a video address to Ukrainians who celebrate Christmas in December. Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and mark the occasion in early January.
Pussy Riot release new song condemning war in Ukraine
Russian punk band Pussy Riot have released a new song protesting against the war in Ukraine and have called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be tried for his actions.
In a statement released alongside the track, titled Mama, Don’t Watch TV, they described Putin’s government as a “terrorist regime” and the president, his officials, generals and propagandists as “war criminals”.
“Russian bombs and rockets destroyed Ukrainian homes, schools, hospitals, wrecking towns and destroying lives,” the band wrote.
“This song is our statement against the war that Putin started in Ukraine.”
Who controls what?
Here are four maps we update daily, charting the latest war developments.
Death toll rises to 10 in Kherson attacks
A Russian attack on the city of Kherson has killed at least 10 people, Ukrainian authorities have said.
Zelenskyy published photos showing streets strewn with burning cars, smashed windows and bodies.
“Social networks will most likely mark these photos as ‘sensitive content’. But this is not sensitive content – it is the real life of Ukraine and Ukrainians,” he wrote on Twitter.
Ukraine spy chief says threat of invasion from Belarus low: NYT
The director of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, Kyrylo Budanov, has told the New York Times that Russia is staging a “disinformation campaign” to persuade Kyiv to relocate part of its troops away from the combat zone in the southeast.
Russia sent conscripts to its military bases in allied Belarus and moved troops by rail, raising concerns that it might attempt a second siege of the capital from the north.
While the threat of such an event cannot be ruled out, Budanov said Russia was trying to convince Ukraine of this possibility in order to gain ground in the southeast.
In Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, Wagner mercenaries were deployed to deliver a breakthrough after months-long battles. “Wagner units … need to show they are a force, and they can do what the Russian army could not,” Budanov said.
UK praises Ukraine’s ‘courage and tenacity’ before Christmas
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has praised Ukraine’s “courage and tenacity,” 10 months since Russia launched its invasion.
It concluded its Christmas message on Twitter with the greeting “Slava Ukraini” (Glory to Ukraine) and “Heroyam Slava” (Glory to the heroes).
"Your courage and tenacity to defending your country is a shining example to all of us"
As we settle down for Christmas this year, let us keep those courageous men and women fighting to defend their country in our thoughts.
Slava Ukraini! Heroyam Slava!
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Lsikm0Ov49
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 24, 2022
Russia might be preparing to attack Ukraine from Belarus: ISW
Russia might be preparing to renew its offensive on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv by launching a potential new invasion from north, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.
“Verified evidence of a Russian buildup in Belarus makes more sense as part of preparations for a renewed offensive than as part of ongoing exercises and training practices, but there remains no evidence that Moscow is actively preparing a strike force in Belarus,” the think-tank said in its latest report.
While the institute said a renewed large-scale Russian invasion was unlikely this winter, the possibility of a new operation being launched from the Kremlin ally’s territory was “a possibility that must be taken seriously”.
Irpin residents count their blessings despite destruction and war
Ludmyla Podhorodetska lives in a smoke-blackened, bomb-damaged apartment in Irpin, in the outskirts of Kyiv.
The area was heavily shelled by Russian forces as they attempted to capture the capital in the early stages of the invasion, which begun in February.
Yet, she still counts herself lucky. “My heart bleeds seeing these ruins, but we are alive,” Podhorodetska told Al Jazeera in what was once her home.
A wood fire heater is the only commodity she has left, and one that is much needed to survive the freezing temperatures.
“We have hope because we’ve got something left, others lost everything,” she said.
Ukraine’s defence minister says Kherson attack calls for more weapon deliveries
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has said the attack in Kherson was evidence that Kyiv should be sent more artillery to defend itself from Russian attacks.
Zelenskyy conducted a trip to Washington, DC, earlier this week in which he secured a $1.8bn military aid package, including a Patriot missile battery and precision-guided bombs for Ukrainian fighter jets.
Ukraine will be able to prevent such tragedies if it has more means of counter-battery warfare, more artillery and more long-range ammunition.
Thus, russian murderers will be punished and driven out from Ukraine.
2/2 https://t.co/sYEUf4imT5— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) December 24, 2022
2022 in review: A year of conflict in Ukraine
Ten months since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, there is no end in sight to the fighting, and many Ukrainians are enduring a dark and cold winter.
Al Jazeera looks at the events that have shaped the conflict.
Ukrainian adviser slams calls to negotiate with Russia
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has hit out at those calling for Kyiv to seek peace talks with Russia, referencing Moscow’s relentless pounding of the country’s power grid since October.
Ukrainian officials say Moscow has already fired over 1,000 rockets at key energy infrastructure, warning of a bitter winter with huge deficits in power and water pumping capacity.
“I’ll remind those who propose to take into account [Russian] ‘peace’ initiatives: Right now, Russia is ‘negotiating’, killing Kherson residents, wiping out Bakhmut, destroying Kyiv/Odesa grids, torturing civilians in Melitopol,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
“Russia wants to kill with impunity. Shall we allow it?”
Missile landed next to supermarket in Kherson: Official
Yuriy Sobolevskyi, deputy chair of Kherson’s regional council, has said one of the missiles landed next to a supermarket by the city’s Freedom Square.
“There were civilians there, each of whom lived their own life, went about their own business,” Sobolevskyi said.
Russia denies targeting civilians. Kyiv says Russian forces have been heavily shelling the city from across the vast Dnieper River since it was recaptured in November.
Ukrainian authorities say Russian offensive in Bakhmut continuing
Russian troops have launched attacks near Bakhmut using tanks, mortars and rocket artillery in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian general staff of the armed forces has said on its Facebook page.
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, said video suggested close-quarters combat was continuing in the hotly contested city in the Donetsk region, where Russian forces are waging a months-long battle.
Ukrainian forces managed to prevent Russian troops from advancing, Stratford said, adding that reports suggested the Russian military was advancing from the north and the south in an attempt to encircle the city.
Turkey says Ukraine war will ‘not end easily’
Turkey has said that Russia’s war on Ukraine “will not end easily”, despite repeated attempts to arrange peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.
“It would not be wrong to say that despite all our goodwill and call for a ceasefire, this war is likely to continue into 2023,” Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told journalists during a year-end briefing in the capital, Ankara.
Turkey, which helped broker a deal with the United Nations for the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, is seeking to bring together Russian and Ukrainian leaders for negotiations to end the war.
“As Turkey, we call for a ceasefire – at least a humanitarian ceasefire. Then, a permanent ceasefire and peace talks,” Akar said.
‘Russia has no intention of giving up Kherson’: AJ correspondent
Al Jazeera correspondent Charles Stratford has said the shelling in Kherson was a sign Russia had “no intention” of giving up the city, a strategic Black Sea port recaptured by Ukrainian forces in November.
“There are constant sniper and shelling attacks, but the severity of this attack in the most central area of the city is very worrying, indeed,” Stratford, who was reporting from Kyiv, said.
About 70,000 people currently live in Kherson. Those injured were brought to four hospitals, where power cuts have been frequent.
Kherson shelling death toll rises
The deputy head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, has said seven people were killed in the shelling of Kherson on Saturday and 58 were injured, at least 16 of them seriously.
Kherson region’s prosecutor’s office said on its social media pages that at least “eight civilians were killed”.
Cars also caught fire in a residential area of the city after shelling, the emergency services said.
The fires were put out after 40 minutes, but the number of dead and injured was still being “established”, the prosecutor’s office said on Telegram.
Zelenskyy blasts Russian ‘terror’ after Kherson city shelled
Zelenskyy has blasted Russian “terror” after shelling killed at least five people and injured 20 others in Kherson city, which Kyiv’s forces recaptured in November.
“Kherson. In the morning, on Saturday, on the eve of Christmas, in the central part of the city,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, publishing images of the attack and calling the attack “killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure”.
Russia ‘likely’ restricted long-range missile attacks: UK
In its daily report about the war, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence says Russia has “likely limited” its long-range missile attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure to about once a week due to the limited availability of cruise missiles.
The ministry added that Russia has bolstered its forces in Ukraine with tens of thousands of reservists since October.
“Despite the easing of its immediate personnel shortages, a shortage of munitions highly likely remains the key limiting factor on Russian offensive operations,” the report said.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 24 December 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/pCnQtNmhAj
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/z4gjnDuyON
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 24, 2022
Japan firms to stop insuring ships in all Russian waters
Three Japanese insurance companies will stop insuring ships for damage in all Russian waters due to the war in Ukraine, potentially affecting Japan’s energy imports, including liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co started notifying shipowners about their decision on Friday, the business daily Nikkei reported.
The insurers’ decision was prompted by reinsurance companies refusing to take on risks related to the war that Moscow launched 10 months ago, the newspaper said.
Japan’s LNG imports from Russia’s Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project could be affected, Nikkei said. The Sakhalin Island complex, partly owned by Gazprom and Japanese companies, is vital to Japan’s energy security as it accounts for 9 percent of the country’s LNG imports.
Ukraine official urges ‘liquidation’ of Iranian weapon factories
A top Ukrainian presidential aide has called for the “liquidation” of Iranian factories making drones and missiles, as well as the arrest of their suppliers, as Kyiv accused Tehran of planning to supply more weapons to Russia.
Mykhailo Podolyak said Iran “blatantly humiliates the institution of international sanctions”, before calling for the destruction of Iranian weapon factories in response.
Iran, planning to boost missile, drone supplies for Russia, blatantly humiliates the institution of international sanctions…
Important to abandon nonworking sanctions, invalid UN resolutions concept, & move to more destructive tools – liquidation of plants, arrest of suppliers…— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) December 24, 2022
List of key events, day 304
Here is the situation as it stands on Saturday, December 24.
Zelenskyy has warned of possible increased Russian attacks over the upcoming Christmas holiday season, urging Ukrainians to “pay attention to air raid alarms, help one another and look out for one another”.
Read more here.
Russia accused of war crimes cover-up by razing Ukraine theatre
Russian authorities in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol have begun demolishing most of its drama theatre, where Ukrainian authorities say hundreds died in an air bombardment in March.
A video posted on Ukrainian and Russian websites on Friday showed heavy equipment taking down much of the theatre leaving its façade intact.
Ukrainian officials denounced the demolition as a bid to cover up the deaths in the March 16 bombardment and wipe out Ukrainian culture. Russian officials said it was part of plans to rebuild the theatre in a city firmly under their control.
“The Mariupol Theatre no longer exists,” Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko wrote on Facebook.
Read more here.