It is the 228th day of the war in Ukraine and after the attack on Kerch bridge that connects Crimea and Russia, considered strategic for the fate of the conflict, Moscow accuses: “It was the Ukrainians”. And Kiev replies: “It’s just the beginning.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky jokes after the explosion: “We guarantee the lives of all Russian military personnel who voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender.” Meanwhile, concern for the nuclear power plant. The director general of the IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, will go to Moscow early next week to discuss the creation of a safety zone around the plant. Meanwhile, Moscow has appointed the new head of the “special operation”: is the general Sergey Surovikinwho according to the British Ministry of Defense – reports the Financial Times – is «a notoriously corrupt and brutal general even by the standards of the Russian army».
Meanwhile the pace of the Ukrainian counter-offensive gives hope Western governments and military experts who the war may end before Christmas. This is confirmed by the British newspaper Times which publishes the opinion of a high-ranking British government source. “If Kiev’s progress continues, Putin’s forces will be expelled from the Donbass and will return to Russia by the end of 2022,” says the source. A reconquest of Crimea, on the other hand, is more difficult, an objective which, according to military analysts, would cost “enormous losses” to the Ukrainian armed forces.
Character – Surovikin, the anti-Gorbachev coup leader, will lead the offensive in Ukraine
Analysis – Ian Bremmer: “A new escalation is now likely. Putin wants to involve NATO in the conflict “
The case – The yellow of the alleged driver of the truck, who arrived from the Russian region of Krasnodar
“And now we hit Kiev with a nuclear missile”. No, “immediate retreat otherwise we risk also on the Volga and the Yenisei”. The defeat of the Crimean Bridge and the dilemma over Russian telegram channels. It is already panic about food
James James
Updates hour by hour
00.03 – Kiev: in Russia there are the conditions for a coup d’état
Vladimir Putin has lost control of the secret services and “it is very likely that the explosions on the Crimean bridge were organized by representatives of the Russian security forces, who oppose each other”. This was argued by Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the President’s Office, who on TV, as UNIAN reports, states that in his opinion “the situation in the Russian Federation could very likely turn into a coup” and in fact “the military personnel are already detained in Moscow ». For Podolyak, the explosion on the Crimean bridge is the latest step in a process that “indicates that the conditions for a coup are developing in Russian society but it is too early to talk about its approach”. Zelensky’s adviser notes that the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and the head of the Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin have formed an axis against Defense Minister Serghei Shoigu and the General Staff of the Russian Federation.
00.01 – The archbishop of Kiev: great and real threats of a nuclear disaster
“There are great and real threats of a new nuclear disaster.” The new alarm comes from the major archbishop of Kiev in his video message. «During the day yesterday the Ukrainian land has always trembled due to Russian weapons attacks of various kinds that the enemy has inflicted on our cities and villages. Heavy bloody battles are taking place across the entire front line. But our heart aches above all for the city of Zaporizhzhia which during the day was the victim of various Russian attacks and blows. The enemy – Shevchuk explains – is trying to intimidate this city that has already been annexed to the Russian Federation in absentia by threatening those people who defend it with courage. Our Kharkiv trembled under the Russian blows. The enemy attacked the city center by destroying one of the hospitals in the city of Kharkiv. The urban center is on fire ». “The incessant Russian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant seem particularly criminal. Once again – Shevchuk says – the power plant becomes the epicenter of these attacks, although it is located on the territory occupied by the Russians. There a fire has broken out, the electricity supply has been interrupted and there are great and real threats of a new nuclear disaster ». Shevchuk still says that “on the last day, the enemy launched 7 missile attacks on Ukrainian towns and villages, 12 air strikes, 80 missile attacks with multi-launch rockets”.
Yesterday’s news and insights
The Kerch bridge connecting Russia to Crimea is on fire
