21 December 2022 • 3:00pm
The Kremlin said that it sees no chance for peace talks with Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelensky heads to the US to meet Joe Biden.
Russia warned that increasing the supply of US arms to Ukraine would aggravate the war and “does not bode well”.
“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,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said.
Mr Peskov added that Moscow has no expectations that anything positive will come out of Mr Zelensky’s trip to the US.
Mr Zelensky said the visit is aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s “resilience and defence capabilities” amid repeated Russian attacks on energy and water supplies in the dead of winter.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser, said Ukraine would be seeking “weapons, weapons and more weapons”, and in particular armoured vehicles, the latest missile defence systems and long-range missiles.
Russia proposes 30 per cent increase in size of armed forces
Vladimir Putin gave his backing on Wednesday to a plan to boost the size of the armed forces by more than 30 per cent as he said Moscow needed to learn from and fix the problems it had suffered in Ukraine.
At an end-of-year conference of Russia’s top military brass, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu proposed beefing up the armed forces to 1.5 million combat personnel from 1.15 million.
This was required “to guarantee the solving of problems related to Russia’s military security”, Shoigu told Putin at the televised event. He said 695,000 of the fighters should be professional contracted soldiers – as opposed to conscripts serving mandatory military service.
Putin had signed a decree only this summer ordering troop numbers to be increased by 137,000 from Jan. 1 2023 to reach the 1.15 million level, and has also drafted more than 300,000 reservists in a controversial mobilisation drive to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia to continue improving combat readiness of nuclear forces
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia will continue developing its military potential and the combat readiness of nuclear forces against the backdrop of Moscow’s offensive in Western-backed Ukraine.
“The armed forces and combat capabilities of our armed forces are increasing constantly and every day. And this process, of course, we will build up on,” Putin said at a televised defence meeting, adding that Russia will also “improve the combat readiness of our nuclear triad”.
Biden ‘thrilled’ at Zelensky visit
US President Joe Biden has said he is “thrilled” to have Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky travelling to Washington to meet with him.
“I hope you’re having a good flight, Volodymyr. I’m thrilled to have you here. Much to discuss,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Kremlin said that it sees no chance for peace talks with Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelensky heads to the US to meet Joe Biden.
Russia warned that increasing the supply of US arms to Ukraine would aggravate the war and “does not bode well”.
“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,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said.
Mr Peskov added that Moscow has no expectations that anything positive will come out of Mr Zelensky’s trip to the US.
Mr Zelensky said the visit is aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s “resilience and defence capabilities” amid repeated Russian attacks on energy and water supplies in the dead of winter.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser, said Ukraine would be seeking “weapons, weapons and more weapons”, and in particular armoured vehicles, the latest missile defence systems and long-range missiles.
Putin says no limit on financial support for Russia’s armed forces
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised on Wednesday to give his armed forces anything they asked for to support the 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 also said Russia needed to take special note of the importance of drones in the 10-month conflict and said Russia’s hypersonic Sarmat missile – dubbed “Satan II” would be ready for deployment in the near future.
Putin hails Russian ‘heroes’
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Russia would fulfil all the goals of its military campaign in Ukraine as he heralded Russian soldiers and defence chiefs as “heroes” in a speech in Moscow.
Speaking at an end-of-year meeting of Russia’s top defence chiefs, Putin said the Nato military alliance was using its full capabilities against Russia and urged the assembled military leaders to use their experience gained fighting in Syria and during the 10 months of what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Avdiivka left in ruins
The town of Avdiivka in Donetsk region has largely become a ghost town, as nearly all residents have evacuated.
Heavy fighting continues on the southern edge of the city and constant shelling by Russian forces has left no building untouched.
A large swath of Donetsk region has been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. and the Kremlin has tried to expand its control here since its invasion.
‘Weapons, weapons and more weapons’
Ukrainian political adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said President Volodymyr Zelensky’s US visit offers him the opportunity to explain what weapons Kyiv needs.
“…Weapons, weapons and more weapons. It is important to personally explain why we need certain types of weapons,” Mr Podolyak said. “In particular, armoured vehicles, the latest missile defence systems and long-range missiles.”
President Joe Biden will announce nearly $2 billion in further military assistance for Ukraine that will include a Patriot missile battery to help it defend itself against barrages of Russian missiles, a senior US official said.
“This finally puts an end to the attempts by the Russian side… to prove an allegedly growing cooling in our bilateral relations,” Mr Podolyak told Reuters.
“This, of course, is not even close. The United States unequivocally supports Ukraine.”
Zelensky’s US trip is ‘extremely significant’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “extremely significant” visit to the United States on Wednesday will disprove Russian attempts to show that US-Ukrainian relations are cooling, a presidential adviser said.
Political adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters in written comments that MR Zelensky’s trip, including talks with President Joe Biden, provided an opportunity to explain the real situation in Ukraine, what weapons Kyiv needs to fight Russia, and why it needs them.
He said:
“Firstly, both the visit itself and the level of planned meetings unequivocally testify to the high degree of trust between the countries. Secondly, this finally puts an end to the attempts by the Russian side … to prove an allegedly growing cooling in our bilateral relations.
“This, of course, is not even close. The United States unequivocally supports Ukraine.
“In my opinion, the visit will undoubtedly activate and optimise key areas of military cooperation, further mobilise bipartisan political support and more clearly paint a picture of the future if the war is not ended correctly.”
Kremlin says no chance of Ukraine talks as Zelensky travels to Washington
The Kremlin said that nothing good would come from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to Washington on Wednesday and that Russia saw no chance of peace talks with Kyiv.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that continued Western arms supplies to Ukraine would lead to a “deepening” of the conflict – something which could backfire on Kyiv, he warned.
“The supply of weapons continues and the range of supplied weapons is expanding. All of this, of course, leads to an aggravation of the conflict. This does not bode well for Ukraine,” Peskov said.
Mr Zelensky was due to meet U.S. President Joe Biden and Congressional leaders on Wednesday in his first foreign trip since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into his country on Feb. 24.
Asked whether Moscow had any expectations that something positive could come from Mr Zelensky’s trip, Peskov answered: “No”.
From the frontline
A local resident Oleksandra Koshkina, 85, sits in a car as she heads back to her village of Torske near the frontline in the Donetsk region, Ukraine.
EU not conducting fair investigation into Nord Stream explosions, Lavrov claims
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday it appeared no European countries were conducting a proper investigation into the series of explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September.
“After the explosions on Nord Stream – which, it appears nobody in the European Union is going to objectively investigate – Russia stopped gas transportation through the northern routes,” Lavrov said on Wednesday.
Russia has blamed Britain for the explosions – claims rejected by London – while investigators in Sweden and Denmark said they were the deliberate results of sabotage, though did not name any possible culprits.
“Kremlin says no chance of Ukraine talks as Zelensky travels to Washington”
Well, now the little monkey is really upset! Like there was a chance for talks if Zelensky hadn’t gone to Washington.
Whatever the rat says is irrelevant. The only sentences from him that would be of interest are, I’m retreating fully from Ukraine, or, I abdicate, or, I’m dying.
“…increasing the supply of US arms to Ukraine would aggravate the war and “does not bode well”.’
Nope. Doesn’t bode well for Russia. It’s just so unfair that Ukraine fought back.
According to Peter Zeihan, the Swedes have quietly said that the explosives used on Nordstream were Russian. He also said they haven’t gone public because that would bring about a much intensified war as European infrastructure was hit and that would demand action.
I can believe that, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense for Putin’s idiots to blow their own pipeline.