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COLD WAVE TO COME
Ukraine was struggling on Tuesday to repair its energy facilities, damaged by a new salvo of Russian missiles, and to resupply Ukrainians deprived of power and water as freezing temperatures hit the country.
Of the more than 70 missiles launched by Moscow, “most” were shot down, assured Ukrainian President Volondymyr Zelensky.
But the new salvo was deliberate “to make Ukrainians suffer as much as possible” as freezing cold hits the country, said the boss of Ukrenergo, the Ukrainian electricity operator.
“A peak of cold” is expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, Volodymyr Kydrytskiï warned on television. “The timing that the Russians have chosen for this attack is linked to their desire to inflict (…) maximum damage to our energy system,” he said.
yesterday
GEORGIA
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili risks death if he does not receive proper care, doctors warned on Friday.
He had been transferred to hospital last year after a hunger strike against his imprisonment for abuse of power.
CUTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Ukrainian electricity operator Ukrenergo warned on Monday that emergency power cuts will need to be enforced across Ukraine as the country grapples with the aftermath of new Russian strikes.
“Because of the consequences of the bombardments (…), to maintain the balance between the production and the consumption of electricity, a system of emergency cuts will be set up in all the regions of Ukraine. electricity will be supplied as a priority to essential infrastructure,” Ukrenergo announced on Telegram.
INTERVIEW
The European Union has decided to set as of Monday a maximum threshold of 60 dollars for a barrel of Russian oil, and to decree an embargo on its supplies by sea.
But we should not fear, for the time being, an increase in fuel prices or even shortages, according to Olivier Gantois, president of the French Union of Petroleum Industries.
TRAPPED MAIL
Three letters containing “animal eyes”, addressed to Ukrainian diplomatic representations in Spain, were intercepted on Monday, we learned from a police source, a few days after the explosion of a letter bomb in the Ukrainian Embassy in that country.
“The security services of the postal services detected and intercepted three suspicious letters this morning, addressed to the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid and to the country’s consulates in Barcelona and Malaga”, indicated this source, who specified that these envelopes did not contain “explosive substances”, but “animal eyes”.
“In their characteristics, these shipments are similar to those received last Friday by the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid, as well as by other consulates and embassies of the country in other European cities,” the source continued.
UKRAINIAN COUNTER-ATTACK
Two Russian airbases in the center of the country were targeted by Ukrainian drones on Monday, killing three, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
On Monday morning, “the kyiv regime (…) attempted to carry out strikes with Soviet-designed drones on the air base of Diaguilevo in the Ryazan region and that of Enguels in the Saratov region”, indicates the press release. Three Russian soldiers “were mortally wounded” in these attacks, according to the same source.
UN
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, visiting Ukraine, took refuge in an underground shelter in kyiv on Monday due to missile strikes, the UN said. This is the first time that a High Commissioner has visited Ukraine since the Russian invasion, launched on February 24.
“I was about to meet human rights defenders on my second day in Kyiv, and I had to move this meeting here, to this shelter (…) because the sirens sounded” , said Volker Türk, in a short video sent to AFP.
“And while we were having this discussion here in this shelter, there was a wave of missile attacks against Ukraine, some of which landed near kyiv. You can imagine what that means for the population. C has become almost a new normal, but it is having a huge impact on civilians, and it must stop,” he added.
RESPONSE
Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense “shot down most of the missiles” fired by the Russian army on Monday, assured President Volodymyr Zelensky, although several impacts were recorded, causing water and electricity cuts.
“Air defense shot down most of the missiles. Power engineers have already started restoring power. Our people never give up,” Zelensky said on Instagram.
AIR BASES
Vladimir Putin was informed Monday of incidents at two air bases of Russian forces in the Saratov and Ryazan regions of central Russia, the Kremlin spokesman said.
“The president regularly receives information, coming from the appropriate services, on everything that is happening,” Dmitry Peskov told the press, without further details, specifying that any further questions should be addressed to the Ministry of Defense.
According to several Russian media, two airbases, including one intended for strategic aviation used according to kyiv to carry out strikes against Ukraine, were rocked by explosions.
CRIMEAN BRIDGE
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the partially destroyed Crimean Bridge in October, his first visit to the annexed peninsula since the start of the offensive against Ukraine, Russian media reported on Monday.
Russian television channels broadcast images showing Mr Putin driving a car, claiming he was on this bridge linking the Ukrainian peninsula with Russian territory. The viaduct had been damaged in October by a powerful explosion attributed by Russian authorities to Ukrainian forces.
WATER AND ELECTRICITY CUTS
Following the Russian strikes all over the Ukrainian territory, water and electricity cuts were observed in several cities of the country, authorities said. This is the case of Kryvyi Rig, in central Ukraine, in Odessa (south), Mykolaiv (south) and in the Sumy region (northeast).
TWO DEAD IN STRIKE IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE
As anti-aircraft alerts sound across Ukraine, authorities announced the death of two people in a strike in the south of the country. The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration said on Telegram that the strikes left at least two people dead and three injured, including a child.
AIR ALERT
According to Ukraine, a major air attack was launched by Russia. Air alerts are sounding in several regions of the country, including in kyiv, where loud explosions have sounded. “The missiles have already been launched,” said Yuriy Ihnat, an air force spokesman. There was no immediate news of damage or casualties. “Don’t ignore the alert,” said Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential staff chief.
A FALSE HUMANITARIAN CONVOY
Spanish authorities announced that they had dismantled a major drug trafficking network accused of concealing cannabis in a fake humanitarian convoy bound for Ukraine to ship it to several European countries.
According to the Spanish Civil Guard, a total of 30 people were arrested in the operation, which was carried out in several towns in the southern region of Andalusia, including Seville, Malaga and Granada. The suspects “got their supplies from cannabis plantations all over Andalusia”, the Guardia Civil said in a statement.
To export their goods, “they hid them in cardboard boxes” which they passed off as “provisions and humanitarian aid for Ukraine”, the statement added.
THE KREMLIN WANTS TO CONTINUE THE OFFENSIVE
The cap on the price of Russian oil decided by Western countries will have no impact on Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, the Kremlin assured Monday. The Russian economy “has all the necessary capabilities” to finance the military offensive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Such measures will have no impact” on the intervention, he insisted. The Kremlin spokesman nevertheless warned of the consequences of this price cap, warning against a “destabilize” of the world energy market.
ZELENSKY NAMED PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
The Ukrainian president was elected by the daily newspaper The Financial Times “personality of the year”. “I am more responsible than brave,” commented Volodymyr Zelensky, who leads the resistance in Ukraine, at war with Russia for nine months, “I hate letting people down.” Compared to Winston Churchill by the FT, the Ukrainian leader mostly pointed out that he missed fishing for carp in the Dniepro River with his son.
THE KREMLIN STRENGTHENS ITS HOLD ON THE DIGITAL SECTOR
A close friend of Vladimir Putin, Alexei Kudrin, has announced that he has joined the Yandex group, a Russian jewel of new technologies. “I have accepted an offer from Yandex to become a business development adviser,” the former finance minister said on Telegram, adding that his job would be to “ensure the company’s long-term development , in all markets, including internationally”.
The Russian new technologies sector has been strongly affected by the Western sanctions adopted against Russia after its offensive against Ukraine and the Kremlin is seeking to develop a strategy to replace the Western giants and their products. It is therefore strengthening its grip on this sector, in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine.
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION
Find the major news from the past 24 hours on the conflict sparked in Ukraine following the invasion of Russia.
RUSSIAN OIL
Adopted by the EU, G7 countries and Australia, the Russian oil price cap, which is due to come into force from Monday, aims to restrict Russia’s income while ensuring that it continues to supply the world market.
The activation of a cap coincides with the entry into force of an EU embargo on Russian oil transported by sea – several months after the embargo already imposed by the United States and Canada.
However, Russia is the world’s second largest exporter of crude and, without this ceiling, it would be easy for it to find new buyers at market prices. The mechanism adopted therefore provides that only oil sold at a price equal to or lower than 60 dollars per barrel can continue to be delivered, and that beyond that, it will be prohibited for companies based in EU countries, G7 and Australia to provide services enabling maritime transport (trading, freight, insurance, shipowners, etc.).