Ukraine Daily

Thursday, December 22

Russia’s war against Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

‘It’s an honor to be by your side’: Biden welcomes Zelensky at White House. President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Washington, D.C., on Dec. 21 to meet his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, leaving the country for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

Russia’s Medvedev meets with China’s Xi as Zelensky visits Washington for talks with Biden. According to Reuters, Medvedev and Xi discussed the “no limits” strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Putin threatens to strengthen nuclear triad, pledges ‘unlimited’ funds for Russian army. In a speech to his defense chiefs, Putin emphasized Russia’s commitment to maintaining and developing its nuclear triad, calling it the “main guarantee of preserving our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Russia plans to station newly-formed military units near border with Finland. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the move is connected to Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO.

Ex-CEO of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos Rogozin reportedly injured in Donetsk. Russian state space corporation Roscosmos ex-CEO Dmitry Rogozin was wounded in gunfire in Russian-occupied Donetsk on Dec. 21, his aide reportedly told Russian state-owned media RIA Novosti. He was staying with a group of military advisers when their hotel came under fire.

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Ukrenergo: Energy deficit in Kyiv remains ‘significant’ after Dec. 19 drone attack. Ukraine continues to face a significant electricity shortage following Russia’s Dec. 19 drone attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s state grid operator Ukrenergo reported. Prior, Serhiy Kovalenko, the CEO of energy supplier Yasno, said that 10-hour-long power outages had become a “new reality” in Kyiv.

ISW: Putin demonstrates that Russia is not interested in reducing its war efforts, despite growing toll on society. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu presided over a Russian Ministry of Defense Collegium in Moscow on Dec. 21. They made several statements on the strategic direction of the Russian military, during which Putin reiterated that Russia “will ensure the safety of all Russian territories, including illegally-annexed territories in Ukraine.”

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Zelensky to US Congress: ‘Your money is not charity, it’s investment in global security’

President Volodymyr Zelensky received a lasting standing ovation as he was about to deliver a historic address before U.S. Congress late on Dec. 21. “It is too much for me,” he said with a smile before proceeding with his remarks.

Photo: Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Ukraine war latest: Zelensky meets Biden at White House, US announces $1.85 billion in new military aid

President Volodymyr Zelensky met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 21. Speaking at a joint news conference after their talks, Biden condemned Russian dictator Vladimir “Putin’s inhumane brutal war” saying Moscow is “going to fail.”

Photo: Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

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Ukraine’s Christmas wish list: What is needed to end the war quickly.

This holiday season, as people celebrate with their families and stroll brightly-decorated streets across the world, Russia’s war against Ukraine has reached a crucial point.

Photo: South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images

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Ukraine’s year at war: 2022 in 22 photos.

For Ukraine, the story of 2022 is the story of war. Russia’s war against Ukraine started in 2014 in Crimea and Donbas, but it turned into a full-scale invasion in 2022. The Kyiv Independent picked 22 photos representing Ukraine’s hardest, darkest, and most important year.

Photo: Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Russia kills 2, injures 8 in Donetsk Oblast over past day. Russian forces shelled the entire front line from Vuhledar to Lyman, causing damages and destruction in residential areas.

Governor: Russia attacks Kherson Oblast 71 times over past day, kills 1, wounds 6. Kherson and surrounding areas have been under regular shelling from Russian artillery and rocket systems since Ukrainian forces liberated the city on Nov. 11.

Update: Russian attack on Ochakiv in Mykolaiv Oblast injures 3, including a child. Russian artillery shelling of the southern city of Ochakiv injured three people, including a 10-year-old boy, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported on Dec. 21.

Reznikov: Mass burial site found in liberated village in Kherson Oblast. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Dec. 21 that the bodies of seven civilians, including a teenage girl, allegedly killed by Russian forces had been found in a mass burial site in the recently liberated village of Pravdyne in the southern Kherson Oblast.

General Staff: Russia has lost 99,740 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Dec. 21 that Russia had also lost 3,002 tanks, 5,979 armored fighting vehicles, 4,608 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,972 artillery systems, 412 multiple launch rocket systems, 212 air defense systems, 282 airplanes, 267 helicopters, 1,688 drones, and 16 boats.

International response

UN to allocate extra $20 million to aid Ukraine’s public organizations, volunteer groups. The funding is aimed at supporting over 300 civil society organizations, community-based organizations, and volunteer groups in Ukraine.

US announces $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine. U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken announced $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine in a package that will include a Patriot missile battery and precision-guided bombs for fighter jets on Dec. 21.

AP: Biden pledges further support to Ukraine during Zelensky’s visit to Washington. During President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington, D.C., on Dec. 21, U.S. President Joe Biden told Zelensky that “it’s an honor to be by your side,” Associated Press reported. Biden also pledged additional support to Ukraine, saying the U.S. will continue to provide financial, military, and humanitarian aid.

CNN: US investigates how its technology ended up in Iranian drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has established a task force to investigate how Western technology, including U.S. microelectronics, ended up in Iranian-made kamikaze drones that Russia has been using to attack Ukraine, CNN reported citing multiple officials.

Kirby: Biden invited Zelensky to Washington because Russia’s war entered ‘new phase.’ While the first in-person Biden-Zelensky talks since 2021 are expected to focus on further U.S. military and economic support, as well as Russia sanctions, top U.S. official John Kirby said that the two would also discuss how the war could come to an end.

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