As kyiv repelled a Russian attack by Iranian drones overnight Thursday-Friday, a day after massive bombings of energy infrastructure that left millions of Ukrainians without electricity, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces attempted to advance near Bakhmout and Avdiivka, with the aim of taking the entire Donetsk region in the east of the country. According to Reuters, the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said on Friday (December 30th) that Russian forces fired on several towns and villages, including Bakhmout, Kudryumivka, Soledar and Kostyantynivka, west of Bakhmout. For their part, the United States is worried about the rapprochement between Beijing and the Kremlin.
- Ukrainian army advances in Donbass, according to Volodymyr Zelensky
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian troops are holding their positions against Russian forces in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, “where the fiercest fighting is taking place”. In his Friday night video address, he also added that Ukrainian forces were “slowly advancing” in some areas of the region. The Ukrainian head of state claimed that kyiv had strengthened its anti-aircraft capability and would make it “even stronger” in the new year to protect itself and the entire European continent.
- US ‘closely monitoring’ Sino-Russian relationship
The United States is concerned about China’s alignment with Russia, more than a decade after Moscow’s forces began invading Ukraine, the US State Department said on Friday. The statement came after a videoconference meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, during which the Kremlin ruler said Russia-China ties were the “best in history”, and expressed his wish to expand military collaboration.
“Beijing claims to be neutral but its behavior clearly shows that it is still committed to close relations with Russia,” a State Department spokesperson said, adding that Washington was “closely monitoring the activity” of China. . Vladimir Putin has also invited his Chinese counterpart to pay a state visit to Moscow next spring.
- Kremlin gives tax gift to Russian soldiers and officials deployed in Ukraine
Russian soldiers and civil servants deployed in Ukraine will no longer be required to declare their income, the Kremlin announced on Friday, under an exemption from anti-corruption laws. “It concerns those who work in the (four) territories,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press, referring to the four Ukrainian regions (those of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia) for which Moscow claims responsibility. annexation – without however fully controlling them – and where most of the fighting is currently taking place.
This new provision is part of the Kremlin’s incentive measures to push the Russians to leave to fight in Ukraine: promise of significant bonuses, banking and real estate facilities, financial aid to families in the event of death or injury, etc.
- 95 billion dollars withdrawn from Russian oligarchs in 2022
Russia’s wealthiest oligarchs have lost nearly $95 billion this year amid tough sanctions imposed by Western countries following the war in Ukraine, or nearly $330 million a day since the Kremlin ruled. launched its invasion. Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea FC, is the biggest loser, his fortune having fallen 57% to $7.8 billion this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The UK government has frozen more than £18 billion in assets belonging to oligarchs and other Russians, according to the first official total recently revealed. Sanctions were imposed on 1,271 people – including Abramovich and “nickel king” Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s second richest person – according to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s annual tally.