Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the battles, here are the main points of the day.
The fact of the day
It’s a remarkable surprise visit. The American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, arrived in kyiv to reassure Ukraine of the sustainability of American support in the face of the Russian invasion. The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in aid since this war began in February 2022, and has repeatedly pledged to support Kiev for as long as necessary, but this promise is undermined by the opposition growing number of certain Republican elected officials.
“The message I bring to you today, Mr. President, is that the United States is with you and will remain with you for a long time,” declared Lloyd Austin during a meeting with the Ukrainian head of state. “Together with our allies and partners, we will continue to support Ukraine’s urgent battlefield needs and long-term defense requirements,” the official added. Volodymyr Zelensky called the visit of the head of the Pentagon “a very important signal”. “We are counting on your support,” he said.
Sentence of the day
We are concerned about divisive secessionist rhetoric and malicious foreign interference.”
Russia’s “secessionist rhetoric” and “malicious” interference in Bosnia worry NATO. Divided since the end of the intercommunal war (1992-1995) along ethnic lines, Bosnia is made up of two entities, a Serb and a Croat-Muslim, linked by a weak central government. The political leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik, who maintains his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, regularly raises the possibility of a secession of the Serbian entity, Republika Srpska (RS).
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the current situation risks endangering “stability” in the country and hindering ongoing reforms. “Allies strongly support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said. “Your security is important for the Western Balkans region and for Europe.”
The number of the day
3. This is the number of civilians killed in one day by the Russian offensive. Each day continues to bring its litany of deaths and injuries.
In Kherson, a large southern city shelled almost daily by the Russian army, the bombing of a parking lot left two dead and two injured in the morning, according to the regional administration. In Nikopol (South-East), an 83-year-old woman was killed and a 53-year-old man was injured by artillery fire, according to the authorities.
Today’s trend
Russia returned to the offensive in the east in October, and Kiev says Moscow also plans to resume its winter bombing campaign to plunge millions of Ukrainians into the cold and darkness.
Near Kherson, one of the important axes of the Ukrainian counter-offensive where Kiev troops managed to gain a foothold on the left bank of the Dnieper River, occupied by the Russians, the Ukrainian forces “continue to hold”, indicated in the morning the Ukrainian general staff.
In the East, it is the Russian army which is continuing “its attempts to encircle Avdiïvka”, an industrial city in the Donetsk region targeted in recent weeks by intense attacks, according to the same source.