Ukraine strikes Russian-occupied Melitopol; Blasts reported in Donetsk and Crimea
Exiled mayor of Melitopol says Russians are “redeploying” in the city
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, said in a Ukrainian TV interview that Russian troops in the city are “redeploying” and are now “panicking” given Ukrainian strikes on the city over the weekend.
Without providing any evidence he said, “they are busy moving their military groups to other places to try to hide them.”
Fedorov also gave an update on the number of injured and killed as a result of the missile attacks, “there are dozens of Russo-fascists killed, and there are wounded, who were taken to hospitals and to Crimea: about 200 Russo-fascists went to hospitals.”
US says “candid and substantive” meeting with China officials covered Ukraine war and North Korea threats
From CNN’s Kylie Atwood
The meetings between US and Chinese officials in recent days were “candid and substantive” a senior administration official said, adding that the two sides exchanged views on issues including Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and DPRK threats to regional security on the Korean peninsula.
The meetings took place in Langfang, China, and they “are the latest in a series of engagements and part of our ongoing diplomacy with the PRC,” the official explained. The dialogue followed President Biden’s meeting with President Xi Jinping on November 14 on the margins of the G20 in Bali.
The US officials met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng on Dec. 11 and 12. The US delegation included Assistant Secretary Dan Kritenbrink, National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Laura Rosenberger, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for China and Taiwan China Coordinator Rick Waters.
One of the issues that the US side emphasized was the fact that “bringing home U.S. citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China is a personal priority for the President,” the official said.
The US delegation also touched on topics and themes that have been ongoing themes in the Biden administration’s policy approach to China.
“As part of managing competition responsibly, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Senior Director Rosenberger emphasized the importance of setting a floor under the bilateral relationship, to ensure that the United States and China maintain open lines of communication and manage the competition responsibly. They emphasized that competition must not veer into conflict,” the official said.
“Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Senior Director Rosenberger made clear that the United States would continue to compete vigorously, stand up for U.S. interests and values, defend the rules-based international order, and coordinate closely with allies and partners,” the official said.
After their meetings, Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink and Senior Director Rosenberger traveled to Seoul and Tokyo for consultations on a range of regional and bilateral issues from Dec 12 to 14, the official said.
It’s mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here’s what you need to know.
From CNN staff
Russian forces fired at least 30 shells in the central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, while freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout has joined a pro-Kremlin ultranationalist party. US President Joe Biden is one of a number of world leaders who will hold a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday.
Here are the latest headlines:
- Russian forces strike central Ukraine: Heavy artillery fire, including Grad missiles, was reported in Dnipropetrovsk overnight, a Ukrainian military official said on Telegram Monday. The communities of Nikopol and Marhanets were impacted and at least 30 shells were fired, but there were no casualties.
- Bout joins ultranationalist party: Freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was exchanged in a prisoner swap with WNBA star Brittney Griner, has joined the pro-Kremlin ultranationalist party Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR). Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday he is not sure whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Bout.
- Power supply issues continue: Ukraine is suffering a “significant power deficit,” according to state energy provider Ukrenergo. Destruction caused by Russian attacks has limited the capacity of thermal and hydroelectric power plants, and “additional time is needed to restore their work,” added Ukrenergo. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN affiliate ARD that “a general blackout is indeed realistic” in Ukraine and gave a snippet of what his life at home has been like personally for him. “I had no electricity, heating or water for 30 hours at my home.” Only a fraction of Ukrainians are able to move out of the cities to country houses where “they have possibilities to heat stoves with wood,” he added.
- Biden and Zelensky to talk Monday: US President Joe Biden will be among the G7 leaders that will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a virtual meeting Monday, a senior administration official told CNN. Energy — both immediate assistance for Ukraine, as well as the European Union’s energy issues — will be a key topic.
- Ukrainian embassy receives suspicious parcel: The Ukrainian embassy in Greece has received a “bloody package,” according to Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko. It is the latest in a string of packages sent to Ukrainian diplomatic missions across Europe over the past two weeks.
- Ukrainian forces strike Melitopol: The Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine saw heavy shelling at the weekend, but there are conflicting reports on the number of casualties. Exiled city mayor Ivan Fedorov initially claimed 200 Russians were killed, before rowing back the number of casualties to “dozens” dead. Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed governor of Zaporizhzhia region, where Meliopol is located, said that two people were killed and 10 more injured.
Ukrainian president will join G7 leaders for a virtual meeting Monday
From Betsy Klein and Phil Mattingly
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will join leaders of the Group of 7 nations, including US President Joe Biden, for a virtual meeting this morning, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN.
The leaders will “discuss the progress we’ve made together under Germany’s presidency to address the most pressing global challenges of our time,” the senior official said.
Energy, as it relates to Ukraine and the European Union, will be a key topic.
“The Leaders will discuss Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and coordinate our efforts to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. They will also discuss other priorities like addressing the climate crisis, food and energy security, the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and more. The G7 is more united than ever before and we look forward to further strengthening the partnership under Japan’s G7 Presidency in 2023,” the senior official said.
The meeting comes after Biden and Zelensky spoke by phone Sunday. On the call, Biden highlighted how the US “is prioritizing efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense through our security assistance,” the White House said in a statement.
Kremlin spokesman unsure if Putin has spoken with Bout
From CNN’s Anna Chernova and Radina Gigova
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday he is not sure whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“No, as far as I know, he didn’t. Although, I can’t say about a phone [conversation], I don’t know for sure,” Peskov said during a regular briefing with journalists in response to a question about whether Putin has spoken with Bout since the arms dealer’s release on Thursday.
Peskov also commented on Bout joining the pro-Kremlin nationalist party Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR).
“This is not our question, this is Bout’s personal choice,” Peskov said. “If he sees party prospects for himself, well, good for him. This is his own business.”
Earlier on Monday, Russian state news agency TASS quoted Bout as saying that for now he is not planning to run for political office or participate in elections.
TASS also quoted LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky as saying that Bout will be invited to a meeting of the State Duma’s committee on international affairs.
During the call with journalists, Peskov was also asked whether WNBA star Brittney Griner, with whom Bout was exchanged in a prisoner swap, had filed a petition for clemency.
“All necessary procedures were performed in accordance with the law,” Peskov said without elaborating further.
“Significant generation deficit” after all of Ukraine’s thermal and hydroelectric power plants damaged in Russian attacks, prime minister says
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
All of Ukraine’s thermal and hydroelectric power stations have been damaged in the relentless Russian missile strikes targeting the country’s power system, Ukraine’s prime minister said Sunday.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that “there is a significant [power] generation deficit” in the country’s energy system, following eight waves of Russian attacks targeting critical infrastructure.
“All thermal and hydroelectric power stations were damaged, and 40% of the high-voltage network facilities were damaged to varying degrees,” said Shmyhal. “Each of us must realize that this winter we will have to live through with significant restrictions on electricity consumption.”
Ukraine’s state energy provider Ukrenergo said Monday that destruction caused by Russian attacks has limited the capacities of thermal power plants, and “additional time is needed to restore their work.”
Power and water supplies are gradually being restored around the key port of Odesa, which was hit by Russian drone strikes over the weekend, the city’s mayor said.
“The situation in Odesa region is still difficult, the restoration of power supply to consumers continues,” Ukrenergo said in an update posted on Facebook on Monday.
Viktor Bout joins pro-Kremlin nationalist party and claims leader helped with his release
From CNN’s Anna Chernova and Radina Gigova
Freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was exchanged in a prisoner swap with WNBA star Brittney Griner, has joined the pro-Kremlin ultranationalist party Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), according to state media.
“I am deeply touched by the honor. And naturally, I am very nervous to be in the spotlight,” said Bout as he accepted his membership card from party leader Leonid Slutsky in footage aired on Russian state channel Russia 24.
“Leonid Eduardovich [Slutsky] has done a lot to free me. LDPR strongly supported me,” said Bout. “It is my honor, it is my duty to do all I can not only to help, but also to be actively involved in the work [of the party].”
Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” by his accusers, was released Thursday from US detention while serving a 25-year prison sentence on charges of conspiring to kill Americans, acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and provide material support to a terrorist organization. He claimed that the LDPR’s leader helped with his release.
“It has been my motto throughout this difficult time not to lie and not to be afraid,” he added. “This helped me. I hope that now at this difficult time for Russia, LDPR always stands for you, for Russia and for the truth.”
Some background: Since it was founded in 1991, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia — whose name belies its xenophobic views — has backed a hardline, ultranationalist ideology, advocating for Russia to retake former Soviet countries. For three decades, the party’s founder and longtime leader, far-right politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, espoused fringe views on Russia’s revival as a great power and imperial expansion, which have now become mainstream in Russia with the invasion of Ukraine. Zhirinovsky died in April.
Conflicting claims on casualties after Ukrainian forces shell Russian-occupied city of Melitopol over the weekend
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv and Sebastian Shukla in London
The Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine saw heavy shelling at the weekend, according to both Russian and Ukrainian sources, but there are conflicting reports on the number of casualties.
Following an “evening of strikes on Russo-fascist bases, 200 occupiers were roasted [killed]” and 300 more wounded, wrote Ivan Federov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, on Telegram on Saturday.
Fedorov later rowed back on these claims, instead saying there were “dozens” dead.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed governor of Zaporizhzhia region, where Meliopol is located, confirmed there had been explosions in the city in a Telegram post.
Balitsky posted a video showing emergency services attending a huge fire on Saturday night.
“Ukrainian HIMARS were launched on the outskirts of Melitopol,” he said. “Two missiles were shot down by anti-aircraft defense, but four reached their target.”
Balitsky described the target of the attack as a “recreation center” where civilians and military personnel were “having dinner on Saturday night,” but he did not name the target.
According to Balitsky, there were two dead and 10 injured in the attack.
“Three of them need to be hospitalized, and now they are being treated as inpatients in a medical facility,” he said.
On Sunday night, Fedorov told Ukrainian television that “yesterday the enemy had a disappointing day and a disappointing night in the temporarily occupied Melitopol district.”
He listed three sites that were struck, including a “restaurant-hotel complex on the outskirts of Melitopol – ‘Prival Okhotnika’ [‘Hunter’s Rest’].”
The other two were a checkpoint 20km (12 miles) from Melitopol in Novobohdanivka, and a military unit that was “completely destroyed” near the village of Semenivka.
Melitopol lies south of the city of Zaporizhzhia and to the east of Kherson. It is a major Russian logistics hub and has been in Russian hands since the early days of the invasion.
Some background: Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, underlined the importance of the city in comments made to local media outlet Feigin Live on Saturday.
“If Melitopol falls, the entire defense (of the occupiers) to Kherson collapses, the Ukrainian armed forces jump right to the border with Crimea on the isthmus,” said Arestovych.
The attacks on Melitopol came as Ukrainian forces also struck a hotel in Luhansk which allegedly housed a Wagner mercenary unit.
Ukrainian embassy in Greece receives “bloody package,” says Ukrainian foreign ministry
From CNN’s Eve Brennan and Irina Morgan in London
The Ukrainian embassy in Greece has received a “bloody package,” according to Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko.
“The sender’s address is the same as on the rest of the envelopes that had been previously received at Ukrainian embassies and consulates: Tesla car showroom in the German town of Sindelfingen,” said Nikolenko on Facebook on Monday.
Last Wednesday, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that suspicious packages which have been sent to Ukrainian diplomatic missions across Europe over the past two weeks all displayed the same “sender’s address,” the Tesla dealership in Germany.
CNN has reached out to the Tesla Germany press office for a comment but has not yet heard back.
Nikolenko went on to say that Greek police have launched an investigation into Monday’s incident.
“We look forward to the acceleration of the investigation by German law enforcement,” he added.
Nikolenko also said that Monday’s incident brings the total number of threats sent to Ukrainian embassies and consulates to 33 cases across 17 countries.
“1 attempted terrorist attack, 2 mine alerts, 1 case of vandalism, 1 written threat and 28 bloody packages,” he added.
“As Dmytro Kuleba said, no matter how hard the enemies try to intimidate Ukrainian diplomacy, they will not succeed. We are working towards victory,” said Nikolenko.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-12-12-22/index.html
