“We and the Ukrainians are one people”

Kyiv According to the Russian occupiers, Ukrainian forces have begun counterattacks in the Cherson region annexed by Moscow. The Ukrainians went on the offensive in the direction of Nova Kamianka and Beryslav, wrote the deputy head of the Kherson occupation administration, Kirill Stremusov, on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. So far, however, all attacks have been repelled.

In the morning, Stremusov announced that the Ukrainian army had massed tens of thousands of soldiers at the front. Civilians were called to flee. The crew administration was also to be evacuated to the left bank of the Dnipro River. At the same time, Moscow-appointed regional chief Vladimir Saldo emphasized: “No one will give up Cherson, and the army knows what has to be done.”

The evening before, a television appearance by the new supreme commander of the Russian troops in Ukraine, Sergey Surovik, made it clear that the Russian army was expecting a massive Ukrainian attack to liberate Cherson. “The situation is difficult on this front section,” he said. It was an unusual performance by the army general, who even seemed to suggest that Russia might consider withdrawing from the city. Surovikin said “difficult decisions” may be necessary.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has accused Russia of staging a “propaganda show” with evacuations and warnings of an attack on the occupied city of Kherson. Presidential chief Andriy Yermak spoke of fake news with which Russia wanted to scare the residents. “The Russians are trying to intimidate the residents of Kherson with fake news about the shelling of the city by our army and are also staging a propaganda show with evacuations,” he wrote on the short message service Telegram. “Propaganda will not work.”

Also on Tuesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attacked Moscow in a speech. The use of Iranian-made drones is a declaration of bankruptcy by the Kremlin. For the invaded country, Wednesday marks the 238th day of war since February’s Russian invasion.

Zelensky: Drone attacks will not do Moscow any good

“Russia’s call for help to Iran is the Kremlin’s recognition of military and political bankruptcy,” Zelensky said in Kyiv. Russia has spent decades pouring billions of dollars into its military-industrial complex, but now it has to rely on “pretty simple drones and missiles” from Tehran. The bombardment of Ukraine with swarms of these drones might give the Russians tactical hope. “It won’t help them strategically anyway,” said Zelenski.

In the past few days, the Russian army has increasingly shot down Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones at the energy supply in Ukraine, but also at cities. Both Moscow and Tehran deny an arms deal with the drones.

According to a report in the New York Times, Iran sent instructors to the Russian-annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea to train Russians in operating Iranian drones. The newspaper reported on Tuesday (local time), citing current and former officials who are familiar with intelligence information.

The Iranian trainers were supposed to help the Russians deal with problems with the drone fleet acquired from Tehran. This is another sign of the growing closeness between Iran and Russia since Moscow invaded eight months ago.

Russian commander goes in front of television cameras for the first time

Surovikin’s television appearance was the first of its kind in almost eight months of war, and the general painted a bleak picture of the situation in and around Kherson in southern Ukraine. Ukraine is shelling residential buildings and the city’s infrastructure. Artillery hits made Ukraine’s crossings over the Dnipro River impassable. This complicates the supply of the city.

“We will act carefully and in a timely manner, and we will not rule out difficult decisions,” said Surovikin. This passage in particular was understood as an indication of a possible retreat. The head of Russia’s occupation administration in Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, said civilians in some regions on the north right bank of the Dnipro should be evacuated.

The city of Cherson fell into Russian hands in March as the only Ukrainian regional capital. President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the region to Russia in October. The Ukrainian army has been advancing again for a few weeks. The Russian soldiers on the right bank are largely cut off.

General to Ukrainians: We are one people!

After several setbacks for the Russian army, Putin appointed Surovikin supreme commander of all troops in Ukraine in early October. “We and Ukrainians are one people, and we only want Ukraine to be a country friendly to Russia, independent of NATO and the West,” the Russian general said on TV. He sees the “criminal regime” in Kyiv as an opponent, which is driving the Ukrainians to their deaths at the behest of the West.

Again employees of the Zaporizhia NPP arrested

In the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, employees were abducted again, as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in Vienna. A deputy manager of the nuclear power plant and two other employees were recently arrested. While the manager has been released, the others are not yet free, it said.

Pentagon talks about solution for satellite internet in Ukraine

Although tech billionaire Elon Musk has pledged continued satellite internet funding for Ukraine, the US Department of Defense is also negotiating a permanent solution with other providers. So far, Musk’s space company SpaceX has not been paid anything to operate the Starlink Internet service in Ukraine, a Pentagon spokesman said in Washington. The Department of Defense is in talks with SpaceX and other companies to see how best to deploy satellite internet there.

Shortly after the Russian attack, SpaceX activated the Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine and supplied the necessary receiving systems. Communication is important for civilians and the Ukrainian military.

Excitement and concern after renewed Berlusconi statements about Putin

With statements about his friend Putin, Italy’s ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi once again fueled doubts about the determination of the future government in taking action against Moscow. On Tuesday evening, the LaPresse news agency published a recording of a secretly taped speech by Berlusconi to Forza Italia party colleagues in parliament. In it, the 86-year-old said he was back in touch with the Kremlin boss and that he had described him as one of his five best friends.

Also read about the Ukraine war and the aftermath:

Some Italians and Ukrainians worry about the Mediterranean country’s support for Kyiv in the war against Russia once the new government headed by election winner Giorgia Meloni of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia takes office.

That will be important on Wednesday

Russia’s President Putin is consulting with his Security Council on securing the borders of the giant empire and on migration policy.

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