No Christmas truce on the front in Ukraine. Even if, according to the British Ministry of Defence, Russia is limiting its airstrikes for lack of ammunition. “Russia has probably limited its long-range missile strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure to about once a week due to the limited availability of cruise missiles,” the British ministry said on Saturday (December 24th) in its daily report on the conflict in Ukraine.
- Five dead and 20 injured in strike in Kherson
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday denounced an act of Russian “terror” to “intimidate” Ukrainians, after a strike in downtown Kherson, southern Ukraine, left at least five people dead and 20 wounded. “Mornings, Saturdays, Christmas Eve, downtown. These are not military installations. This is not a war by set rules. This is terror, this is killing for intimidate and (take) pleasure”, he lambasted on social networks. According to the deputy head of the presidential administration, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, “at least 5 dead and 20 injured are recorded” at this stage in this new bombardment on Kherson.
“The world must see and understand what absolute evil we are fighting against,” Volodymyr Zelensky lamented again, once again calling the Russian army a “terrorist”. “This is the real life of Ukraine and Ukrainians” for ten months of war, supported the Ukrainian president, accompanying his message with pictures showing the extent of the damage.
- The US Congress passes a budget bill with 45 billion for Ukraine
The American Congress adopted Friday, December 23 a vast bill of finances of the federal services, of a total of 1,700 billion dollars, including 45 for Ukraine. After that of the Senate Thursday, December 22, this vote by 225 votes against 201 of the House of Representatives makes it possible to avoid the paralysis of the American federal administration, the famous “shutdown”, which could have intervened on Friday evening. President Joe Biden has yet to sign the law into law with his signature.
Nancy Pelosi, the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, welcomed the funding of “another substantial round of security, economic and humanitarian assistance” for Ukraine. “And it’s really not – as the President of Ukraine said the other night – about charity. It’s about security, it’s about working together,” she said. said.
- The Netherlands promises 2.5 billion euros to Ukraine in 2023
The Dutch government for its part announced on Friday the provision of a total envelope of 2.5 billion euros in support of Ukraine in 2023, largely intended for military aid. “Nearly two billion are intended for military support,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a press conference in The Hague.
“The rest will go to humanitarian work, rebuilding infrastructure” and fighting impunity, he added. “The exact use of the contribution depends on the needs of Ukrainians and therefore on the course of the war,” the government also stressed in a statement. The aid for repair work is intended for the rehabilitation of infrastructure – including energy infrastructure – hospitals, housing, agriculture and for mine clearance operations, detailed the government.
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said last week that the Netherlands had so far provided almost €1 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 february.
- Grain harvest in Ukraine will drop by 40% in 2022
The grain harvest in Ukraine, one of the world’s leading producers, will fall by around 40% this year compared to 2021 due to the Russian invasion, according to National Grain Association estimates announced towards the end of the month. harvest.
After 106 million tonnes harvested in 2021, a historic record, “this year, it is forecast that the harvest will be up to 64-65 million tonnes”, indeed explained to AFP the director of this association, Serguiï Ivashchenko. “The main reason is the war”, which led to the reduction of the cultivated area and the drop in yield, he explained.
The Russian invasion disrupted the agricultural industry of this country when, renowned for its very fertile black soils, it was the world’s fourth exporter of corn and on the way to becoming the third exporter of wheat. The military offensive first caused a shortage of fuel “hindering the sowing campaign”, underlined Serguiï Ivashtchenko. The blockade of Ukrainian seaports by the Russian army has also prevented grain exports for months, and the proceeds from them are used to finance the sowing campaign, he added.
- Washington calls on Putin to “recognize reality”
The United States called on Friday, with a touch of irony, Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the reality of the conflict in Ukraine and to withdraw his troops after his use of the word “war”, proscribed in Russia, during a press conference.
Triggered on February 24, the Russian intervention in Ukraine is officially called a “special military operation” in Russia. The Russian authorities have introduced a law providing for heavy prison sentences for any publication of information on the Russian army deemed “false” and several people have been sentenced, in particular after having publicly called the conflict a “war”.
However, during a press conference on Thursday, Vladimir Putin used this word assuring that he wanted the conflict in Ukraine to end “as soon as possible”. “Since February 24, the United States and the rest of the world have known that the special military operation was an unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine,” said a spokesperson for the US State Department. “In the end, after 300 days, Putin called the war by its name,” he added. “As the next step in recognizing reality, we urge him to end this war by withdrawing his troops from Ukraine.”