NU.nl regularly provides an overview of the situation in Ukraine. This time: Ukraine asks fellow refugees not to return before spring. In addition, the military of Ukraine and Russia are preparing for a battle around the southern port city of Kherson.
If Ukrainian refugees stay away from their country longer, energy can be saved. This is necessary because the energy supplies to Ukraine have been bombed by Russia for weeks.
This leads to electricity and gas shortages across the country. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, at least one third of the power plants in Ukraine have been destroyed by Russian attacks.
Power outages occur in multiple regions. According to Kiev, these can take days and sometimes even weeks. The national gas company does not expect to have enough gas to supply all households with gas during the winter.
Russia holds nuclear exercises
Russian President Vladimir Putin trained the military by carrying out a so-called nuclear attack. Each year such exercises are held in Russia.
During training, the army fired rockets from the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of the country. Missiles have also been launched in the Barents Sea, north of Russia and Norway.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that the military was carrying out “a massive nuclear strike” in response to a possible nuclear attack by the enemy. Russia recently claimed, without providing any evidence, that Ukraine is working on a weapon aimed at spreading radioactive material.
During the training, the Russian army launched missiles from the Kamchatka Peninsula.
During the training, the Russian army launched missiles from the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Photo: AP
Heavy battle expected in Kherson
The Ukrainian and Russian armies prepare for a battle around Kherson. The city was one of the first major Ukrainian cities to be taken by the Russians at the start of the war and usurped after a bogus referendum.
Oleksiy Arestovych, Zelensky’s adviser, said Wednesday that the battle will break out in the very short term. “This will be the toughest of all battles to date.”
The Russians have been moving non-military personnel from Kherson since last week. According to Arestovych, the troops who remain in the city are digging to defend themselves.
More than two hundred damaged sights
The war in Ukraine has damaged or even completely destroyed more than two hundred cultural sites in the country. The United Nations organization UNESCO established this with the help of satellite images.
The seven attractions that are on the UNESCO World Heritage List have not yet suffered damage since the outbreak of war at the end of February. The 207 sites affected include 88 religious sites, 15 museums and 18 monuments.
UNESCO is talking to the Ukrainian government about the potential removal of cultural heritage from the country to protect it elsewhere during the war. According to the organization, this is a “difficult decision” and the collections must first be moved to safer parts of Ukraine.
Satellite images show, among other things, that the palace of culture in Mykolaiv was damaged.
Satellite images show, among other things, that the palace of culture in Mykolaiv was damaged.
Photo: AP
Head of NATO in Turkey for Sweden’s accession
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will soon travel to Turkey to accelerate Sweden’s entry into the alliance. Turkey has not yet definitively accepted the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after decades of explicitly staying outside the military blocs. But Turkey opposed and gave in only when Sweden promised, among other things, to lift the arms embargo against Turkey.
Sweden is very busy allaying Turkey’s concerns, Stoltenberg said Wednesday. In one of these days, the new Swedish Prime Minister will also visit Ankara.
