As Russia continues to pound Ukraine with drones, kyiv claims the destruction of thirteen aircraft. Ukraine claims, in fact, to have destroyed an entire swarm of drones launched Wednesday morning by Russia against kyiv, the last major air attack by Moscow, which seeks to destroy the country’s energy infrastructure. In his evening speech, Volodymyr Zelensky praised the effectiveness of his anti-aircraft forces, saying that all thirteen Iranian-made Shahed drones had been shot down.
While in Brussels, the 27 European leaders are preparing to meet on Thursday for a last summit of the year 2022. At the heart of the discussions: support for European industry in the face of the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and the race for American subsidies.
- The EU at the bedside of its industry threatened by war
EU leaders, gathered at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, will try to find a common response to help their industry face the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and the race for American subsidies. “The supply of cheap Russian energy was part of the business model of many European industries. This model was shattered following the Russian-led attack on Ukraine, […] he will not come back,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday.
Moscow has reduced its pipeline gas deliveries to the EU by 80% since the start of its military offensive in February. If the European supply is assured for this winter, thanks in particular to imports of liquefied natural gas, its cost has exploded, to the point of threatening the survival of entire sectors in the chemical or steel industries. Ursula von der Leyen also mentioned the American plan adopted this summer by Washington which provides for 370 billion dollars in investments in favor of the fight against climate change. Behind a laudable environmental objective, the plan takes on a protectionist character, with exceptional aid reserved for firms established across the Atlantic, likely to further undermine European competitiveness already penalized by soaring energy prices. “This law risks leading to unfair competition”, stressed Ursula von der Leyen, in a speech to MEPs in Strasbourg, two weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron demanded concessions from US President Joe Biden during a trip to the United States.
In this delicate context, Europeans must rethink support for their businesses, a subject at the heart of the meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Twenty-Seven.
- Ukraine claims to have destroyed a swarm of drones targeting kyiv
Ukraine claimed on Wednesday to have destroyed an entire swarm of drones launched in the early morning by Russia against kyiv, the latest attack from Moscow which seeks to systematically destroy energy infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the effectiveness of his anti-aircraft forces, saying all 13 Iranian-made Shahed drones had been shot down. “We are constantly strengthening our anti-aircraft and anti-drone defenses. And we are doing everything to get more modern and powerful systems for Ukraine. This week we have made significant progress,” he said in his evening speech.
According to American media on Tuesday citing unidentified officials, the United States is finally ready to provide the Ukrainian army with a battery of Patriot missiles. The final agreement could be announced as early as this week, CNN said, once US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin endorses it and forwards it to the White House for a final green light.
The Kremlin, for its part, brushed aside the idea of a Christmas or New Year truce on the ground, once again vowing to continue the fighting. “No proposal has been made by anyone, this subject is not on the agenda,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the possibility of such a pause in hostilities.
- Forced by Arcom, Eutelsat will stop broadcasting three Russian channels in Russia
The satellite operator Eutelsat announced on Wednesday that it would stop broadcasting in Russia and in the annexed territories in Ukraine three Russian channels accused by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) of “war propaganda”, in response to the formal notice that has just addressed the Arcom to this effect. In a press release published on Wednesday, Arcom considered that the programs of these three channels devoted to Ukraine included “repeated incitement to hatred and violence and numerous breaches of honesty of information”. These channels will remain accessible to Russians via other means of broadcasting.
Seized on the subject in September by the NGO RSF, the French audiovisual regulator initially declared itself incompetent to intervene in the broadcasting of Russian channels in Russia. RSF then relied on the Council of State, which forced Arcom to review its decision “in the light of additional elements that occurred during the investigation”, according to the regulator. “It indeed appeared” that the targeted channels “were broadcast not only in Russia, but also in the Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia”, adds Arcom. “Since, unlike Russia, Ukraine has signed and ratified the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, as has France, Arcom therefore has a legal basis to require Eutelsat to cease the broadcasting of these channels”, he explains. RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire hailed a “victory in the fight against propaganda and a victory for the right to information”, in a statement sent to AFP.
- Zelensky disappointed by discussions on a return of Russian athletes to competitions
“Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his disappointment with the presence of the President of the Russian Olympic Committee at the Olympic Summit on November 9 and the discussions on the reintegration of Russian and Belarusian athletes into international competitions under a neutral flag”, can we read in a statement from the Ukrainian Presidency. “Since February, 184 Ukrainian sportsmen have died as a result of Russia’s actions. One cannot try to be neutral when the foundations of a life of peace are destroyed and universal human values are ignored,” Zelensky said. quoted in the press release.
The leader criticizes the Russian sports world for its “silence” since the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine on February 24. “The silence of athletes, coaches and officials, he says, condones the aggressions” of Russia. He adds that “Russia uses sport for propaganda purposes”.
The IOC president said last week in Lausanne that it was necessary to “explore ways” to reintegrate Russian and Belarusian athletes, banned from international competitions since the end of February due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We need to explore ways to overcome this dilemma, about athlete participation, to get back to sporting merits and not political interference,” Bach told reporters.
- Ukraine: searches in churches suspected of links with Moscow
The Ukrainian security services (SBU) announced on Wednesday that they raided Orthodox churches dependent on the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine on Wednesday, as pressure increases against this branch in the midst of a Russian invasion. According to the SBU, “counterintelligence measures” targeted 19 monasteries, cathedrals and churches in several regions of Ukraine. He justified these excavations by an effort to “counter the subversive activities of the Russian secret services” in the country.
The Ukrainian services claimed to have discovered “Russian passports, propaganda literature and laissez-passer” issued by the occupation authorities. “In these publications, Russian representatives deny the existence of the Ukrainian people, their language and culture, and question the Ukrainian state,” the SBU said in a Telegram message.
The Orthodox Church dependent on the Moscow Patriarchate has been under pressure from the Ukrainian authorities since the beginning of the Russian invasion of the country launched on February 24. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in early December his intention to question the status of this branch of the Orthodox Church and to limit the activities of religious organizations affiliated with Russia. Searches targeting the Muscovite branch had already been carried out in November, notably in a famous monastery in the capital, kyiv.