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Live: Zelensky visits besieged city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine
01:52Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the eastern front-line city of Bakhmut on Tuesday, his office said, meeting troops in what has become the epicentre of fighting in Russia’s nearly 10-month invasion of Ukraine. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
1:45pm: Zelensky hails ‘courage, resilience’ of Bakhmut’s defenders
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has paid tribute to the “courage, resilience and strength” of troops defending Bakhmut during a visit to the front-line city.
Zelensky’s office released video footage showing the president, dressed in khaki, handing out medals to soldiers fighting Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky greets Ukrainian fighters on the front line in Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast during an unannounced visit on Dec. 20.
Video by Ukrainian public broadcaster Freedom. pic.twitter.com/mLmJ6RfM4w
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) December 20, 2022
“Bakhmut Fortress. Our people. Unconquered by the enemy. Who with their bravery prove that we will endure and will not give up what’s ours,” Zelensky said in comments posted on the Telegram messaging app under photographs of him in Bakhmut.
“Ukraine is proud of you. I am proud of you! Thank you for the courage, resilience and strength shown in repelling the enemy attacks.”
11:55am: Ukraine’s Zelensky visits front-line city of Bakhmut, presidency says
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the eastern front-line city of Bakhmut this morning, now the epicentre of fighting in Russia’s nearly 10-month invasion of Ukraine, his office has said.
The presidency said Zelensky met military officials and handed out awards to Ukrainian servicemen, who have been holding back a fierce and months-long Russian military campaign for the city.
The unannounced visit comes just weeks after Zelensky met troops in another front-line area in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas.
11:30am: Bakhmut carnage may yield only pyrrhic victory for Russia, analysts warn
The nearly five-month battle for the small city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine has ground on for so long and wrought so much death and destruction that, even if Russia does prevail, it will be a pyrrhic victory, military experts have told Reuters.
Gaining control of the city, with a pre-war population of 80,000 that has shrunk to close to 10,000, could give Russia a stepping stone to advance on two bigger cities – Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. But months of fierce fighting have left Bakhmut in ruins while giving Ukrainian forces ample time to build defensive lines nearby to fall back to.
“If Bakhmut had been captured when they started their attack in August then it would have been significant. But it’s all about momentum,” said Konrad Muzyka, a Polish military analyst, noting that the city’s strategic value has been reduced by Ukraine’s fortification of the surrounding area.
>> The battle for Bakhmut: Ukrainian city’s last residents survive under artillery fire
Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the US-based CNA think-tank, said Moscow appeared committed to the battle because of resources it had already spent rather than because of “sound strategy”.
“The fighting for Bakhmut is not senseless, but strategically unsound (for Russia) given weak offensive potential and no prospect of breakthrough even if the city is captured,” he said.
10:15am: ‘A loud blast, then a flash at my window’: FRANCE 24 reports on Kyiv drone attack
Residents of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities are relying on petrol-fuelled generators to battle freezing temperatures as Russia continues to pummel the country’s critical infrastructure with missile strikes and drone attacks, causing daily power cuts.
Our reporters spoke to residents of the Ukrainian capital shortly after their neighbourhood was targeted by a Russian drone.
01:52
9:30am: Situation in regions Russia claims to have annexed is ‘extremely difficult’, Putin says
The situation in four territories of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed is “extremely difficult”, Vladimir Putin has said.
Speaking to Russian security services on their professional holiday, Putin singled out those working in the “new regions” of Russia. “The people living there, the citizens of Russia, rely on you, on your protection,” he said.
Putin also said that “maximum composure, concentration of forces” was required of Russia’s counterintelligence operations “to strictly suppress the actions of foreign intelligence services, to quickly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs”.
8:25am: Kyiv grapples with freezing temperatures as Russia pummels power grid
Residents of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities are struggling with freezing temperatures as Russia continues to pummel the country’s power infrastructure.
FRANCE 24’s Andrew Hilliar reports from the Ukrainian capital.
02:50
7:55am: US Congress to advance $1.7 trillion govt funding bill, including Ukraine aid
A $1.7 trillion (€1.6 trillion) government-wide funding bill for the fiscal year ending next September 30 was unveiled late on Monday as Congress races against a midnight Friday deadline when current stopgap money expires.
The bill includes $44.9 billion in new emergency aid for Ukraine and NATO allies.
Since the start of Russia’s invasion, US aid to Ukraine has already reached $68 billion.
6:30am: US and Iran clash over Russian use of drones in Ukraine
The United States and its allies have clashed with Iran and Russia at a contentious UN Security Council meeting over Western claims that Tehran is supplying Moscow with drones to attack Ukraine – with the US accusing the UN secretary-general of “yielding to Russian threats” and failing to launch an investigation.
US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the council that Ukraine’s report of Iranian-origin drones being used by Russia to attack civilian infrastructure has been supported “by ample evidence from multiple public sources” including a statement by Iran’s foreign minister on November 5.
He insisted that Iran is barred from transferring these types of drones without prior Security Council approval under an annex to the 2015 resolution on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, meanwhile, dismissed what he called the West’s “unfounded allegations”. He also stressed that all restrictions on transferring arms to and from Iran were terminated in October 2020, adding that Western claims that Tehran needed prior approval therefore “have no legal merit”.
3:15am: Russia won’t ‘steal’ Christmas, says Kyiv mayor
Kyiv officials on Monday illuminated a Christmas tree in the city centre, refusing to let Russia “steal” the festive season from Ukrainian children.
The day, which started with swarms of attacks on critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital, ended with the unveiling of the 12-metre (40-feet) high artificial tree decorated with white peace doves.
A few dozen residents braved the sub-zero temperatures to admire the tree located next to the Saint Sophia Cathedral and its emblematic golden domes and take selfies.
“Russians try to steal normal life away from our citizens, but we won’t give them a chance to steal the biggest holidays – the New Year and Christmas – from our children,” the city’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said when unveiling the tree.
11:25pm: Putin orders FSB to step up surveillance of Russians and borders
President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Federal Security Service (FSB) to step up surveillance of Russian society and the country’s borders to prevent domestic and foreign threats.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s Security Services Day – widely celebrated in Russia – Putin said the “emergence of new threats” increases the need for greater intelligence activity.
“Work must be intensified through the border services and the Federal Security Service (FSB),” Putin said.
“Any attempts to violate it (the border) must be thwarted quickly and effectively using whatever forces and means we have at our disposal, including mobile action units and special forces,” he added.
9:31pm: Putin says Russia has ‘no interest’ in absorbing Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday his country has “no interest” in absorbing Belarus, Moscow’s main ally that heavily depends on it for cheap oil and loans.
“Russia has no interest in absorbing anyone, this would simply make no sense,” Putin said, answering a question from a journalist, saying such rumours came from “ill-wishers”.
The Kremlin has for years sought to deepen integration with Belarus, but its strongman Alexander Lukashenko resisted outright unification with Russia despite being a key ally.
Putin hailed a relationship between “closest allies and strategic partners … united by a common history and spiritual values.”
“Together we are resisting sanctions from unfriendly countries,” Putin said, “and we do so quite confidently and effectively.”
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
© France Médias Monde graphic studio
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