- Matthew Murphy
- BBC reporter
image source,Getty Images
Put in
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with senior military officials the same day the Russian military launched a new round of rocket attacks on infrastructure in Ukraine.
Putin spent most of Friday (December 16) at the ‘Special Military Operations’ headquarters discussing Russia’s next steps.
Meanwhile, some Ukrainian military officials have said Russia is planning a new offensive, possibly early next year.
A Russian attack on Ukraine’s electricity grid has left millions without electricity in the dark.
Footage broadcast on Russian state television showed Putin accompanied by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of the armed forces, Valery Gerasimov.
“We will listen to the instructions of the army commander in each operation, and I also want to hear your proposals for our operations in the short and medium term,” Moscow’s supreme leader told military officials at the meeting on Friday.
General Gerasimov was present, ending the rumors of his dismissal. The 67-year-old has come under fire from aggressive critics for being too cautious.
Air Force Commander Sergei Surovikin was named in October to lead Russia’s operations in Ukraine. State media photos also showed him at the meeting.
Ukrainian forces have made a number of important advances in recent months, including the recapture of Kherson, the only major city so far lost to Russian forces.
The fall of Moscow’s military in eastern Ukraine earlier this year has also meant that top Russian military officials have received continued criticism from the pro-Kremlin media.
image source,EPA
Earlier, it was reported that the commander of the armed forces, Gerasimov (right), was fired.
After the meeting, Ukrainian army commander Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Moscow could try to launch a new offensive in early 2023. He warned that Russia was mobilizing some 200,000 troops to prepare for an attack.
“I have no doubt they will try to attack Kiev again,” he said, “I know how many combat units I have now, how many combat units I will build by the end of the year, and most importantly, don’t start now with Use them in any way, no matter how difficult it is.”
He also said the offensive would likely start “in the direction of Kiev”, perhaps from Belarus.
In February, Russian troops crossed the border from Belarus into the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
While Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly denied that his troops would join the attack, thousands of Russian soldiers are currently taking part in what Moscow’s defense ministry calls “intensive combat training” around the country.
Putin will meet the Belarusian president on Monday in Minsk.
But analysts questioned Russia’s ability to launch a new attack on the Ukrainian capital, while White House spokesman John Kirby said US intelligence officials “see no indication of an imminent move against Kiev.”
The latest round of attacks in Ukraine
- On Friday (December 16), the Russian military carried out a large-scale bombing of Ukraine, firing 76 missiles and multiple drone strikes; local officials said at least 9 power plants were attacked
- Ukrainian engineers are still working to fix power plants as temperatures drop below freezing in many parts of the country
- Parts of the capital Kiev were left without electricity and heat on Saturday, but water supplies have now been fully restored
- Ukrainian authorities confirm shelling of house in Kryvyi Rih town kills 4, also in Kherson
- General Zaluzhny says Ukrainian air defenses have intercepted 60 of 76 Russian missiles
- Kiev said 40 missiles were fired at the capital, the largest attack since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.
Top US defense officials told Reuters that Russia is running out of stocks and is therefore forced to use some decades-old munitions with a high error rate.
They also said that “the current rate of Russia’s consumption of ammunition and artillery” could see them deplete their reliable stockpiles of weapons by early 2023.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that nearly 6 million people had returned to power following the latest round of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s electricity grid.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city’s metro system had been restarted and the water supply had been restored.
He also posted a photo of a large Christmas tree on social media Telegram. He said the tree was adapted to use energy-saving light bulbs powered by generators to meet power limitations in wartime winters.
Power has now been restored to Kharkiv, the second-largest city, after a spate of attacks on power plants across the country cut power for hours on Friday, authorities said.
Russia has launched more than 1,000 Iranian-made missiles and drones since attacks on power plants began on Oct. 10. Leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, said the attack was large enough to constitute a war crime.
The British Defense Ministry said there had been an “increasing” trend in recent Russian long-range attacks on key facilities in Ukraine.
