New Russian strikes killed five people on Saturday, December 17, in Ukraine, where the authorities were trying to restore electricity as quickly as possible after the massive missile strikes the day before which caused power cuts. The Kremlin for its part announced that Vladimir Putin had met the day before with those responsible for the military intervention in Ukraine, asking the commanders what their “proposals” were on the continuation of the operations.
- Ukraine strives to restore power and water
“Electricity was restored to nearly six million Ukrainians during the day. Repair work is ongoing and continues uninterrupted since yesterday’s terrorist attack,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the evening. . “Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done to stabilize the system. There are problems with heat supply, there are big problems with water supply. The situation is most difficult in Kyiv and in his region, in Vinnytsia (center-west, editor’s note) and in his region, in Lviv (west, editor’s note) and in his region”, he acknowledged.
“75% of the inhabitants of the capital already have heating,” said its mayor Vitali Klitschko shortly before, according to which the circulation of the kyiv metro, interrupted on Friday so that the population could take refuge there, resumed early in the morning. and the water supply has returned. Electricity has also been restored to Kharkiv (east), Ukraine’s second largest city, according to regional governor Oleg Sinegoubov.
- New deadly Russian strikes
Saturday, December 17, new strikes left five dead in Ukraine. The heaviest human toll of the new attacks was recorded in the central Dnipropetrovsk region: four people were killed there and 15 others injured, said Deputy Chief of Cabinet of the Ukrainian Presidency Kyrylo Tymoshenko. He added that Saturday’s shelling had also left one dead and three injured in the southern region of Kherson, whose eponymous town was taken over more than a month ago by the Ukrainian army.
Its governor, Yaroslav Yanushevich, for his part stressed that a geriatric center had been hit in the village of Stepanivka, but without causing any casualties. “The enemy continues to concentrate its efforts on carrying out offensive actions in the directions of Bakhmout (which the Russians have been trying to seize since last summer, editor’s note) and Avdiivka”, in the eastern region of Donetsk , noted in the evening the staff of the Ukrainian forces.
- Russian Defense Minister visited the area of operation in Ukraine
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited the area of the military operation in Ukraine to inspect Russian forces deployed there, the Russian military said in a statement on Sunday. In particular, he went to the front line to speak with soldiers, the statement said.
The military officials on the spot also presented him with reports of the current situation on the ground and the actions of the Russian forces, according to the same source. The press release does not specify when this trip took place, but its announcement comes two days after a meeting between Vladimir Putin and the leaders of the Russian operation in Ukraine, including Sergei Shoigu.
- Moscow accuses Moldova of ‘political censorship’
Russia on Saturday accused Moldova of “political censorship” after the small Eastern European country suspended the broadcasting license of six television channels accused of disinformation. Moldova had explained this decision the day before by the “lack of correct information” in their coverage of national events and Russian military operations in Ukraine in particular.
Some of the suspended channels retransmitted Russian television programs which were banned Friday inside the European Union as part of new sanctions against Moscow. The Russian language is widely spoken in Moldova. “We consider that this ban constitutes an unprecedented act of political censorship, a violation of the principle of media pluralism and a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of access to information”, reacted the spokeswoman of the Russian ministry. of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova.