Photo: 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine via Agence France-Presse A Ukrainian soldier fires a cannon at Russian positions near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, on November 18.
Published at 6:56 a.m. Updated at 7:36 a.m.
Ukraine swore on Tuesday, the thousandth day of the Russian invasion, to “never” submit to Russia, which has once again raised the specter of resorting to nuclear weapons and promised to win this war.
This symbolic step comes at a vital time for kyiv: its army is retreating on the battlefield, uncertainty weighs on the sustainability of American support with the return of Donald Trump to power in the United States in January, while Moscow is in a position of strength.
The outgoing US administration of Joe Biden has given the Ukrainians a boost by finally authorizing them, after a year of procrastination, to strike Russian soil with American long-range missiles, a red line for Moscow.
Moscow has also accused Ukraine of having fired six American long-range ATACMS missiles against a military site in the Russian border region of Bryansk on the night of Monday to Tuesday.
“At 3:25 a.m., the enemy struck a site in the Bryansk region” with “ATACMS tactical missiles,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, which assures that five missiles were destroyed and another was damaged by Russian anti-aircraft defense.
President Vladimir Putin had previously signed the decree formalizing his new nuclear doctrine, which expands the possibility of using atomic weapons in the event of a “massive” air assault by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power. Clear references to Ukraine and the United States.
“It was necessary to adapt our foundations (of the nuclear doctrine) to the current situation,” coldly noted Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian presidency, also promising Moscow's victory in Ukraine.
“The military operation will continue (until the achievement) of the set objectives,” he said.
Putin demanded the Ukrainian surrender, the annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, the “demilitarization” of Ukraine and the abandonment of Ukrainian ambitions to integrate NATO.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000This new nuclear doctrine was announced, but its adoption came two days after the authorization of the use of American long-range missiles. Moscow has also promised an “appropriate” response to such attacks.
After nearly three years of a conflict that has left tens, if not hundreds, of thousands dead in total, Kiev does not intend to give in.
“Ukraine will never submit to the occupiers,” Ukrainian diplomacy stressed in a statement, judging that international security requires “the restoration of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”
The ministry recalls that Moscow took advantage of this war to build a military alliance with North Korea and Iran, “a global threat that destabilizes Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.”
North Korea, according to kyiv and the West, supplies Russia with missiles, ammunition and now also at least 10,000 soldiers. Iran is accused of delivering attack drones and ballistic missiles.
“We need peace through force and not through appeasement,” insisted Ukrainian diplomacy in this context, referring to British attempts to avoid a war with Nazi Germany by making concessions to Adolf Hitler, in vain.
But Ukraine has been retreating for several months on multiple sectors of the front in the face of a better-armed and more numerous Russian army.
In addition, Moscow is increasing its missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, killing many civilians and regularly plunging Ukrainians into the cold north as winter approaches.
The Russian army again claimed on Tuesday the conquest of a village near Kurakhove, one of the sectors in the East where it is advancing the most. It is also at the gates of the cities of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk.
In addition, a Russian strike killed ten people, including a child, in the Sumy region on the night of Monday to Tuesday, according to the latest report. The day before, ten people had been killed by a missile in Odessa.
At the same time, Donald Trump's return to the White House in January has left Ukraine and Europeans fearing that he will force kyiv to make concessions, offering a military and geopolitical victory to Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine, the future of transatlantic relations and European defence are also on the agenda on Tuesday at a meeting in Warsaw of the heads of diplomacy of six major European countries.
“There is great common concern about the security situation in Europe and above all the situation in Ukraine,” noted Kathrin Deschauer, spokesperson for German diplomacy.
But Germany, Ukraine’s second-largest donor after the United States, has also angered kyiv, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling Mr Putin for the first time in two years in mid-November.
The Ukrainian president accused the German leader of opening “Pandora’s box”.
Because while Mr Zelensky wants the war to end in 2025 by “diplomatic means”, he believes that kyiv needs more military means to inflict defeats on the Kremlin and approach negotiations from a position of strength.
SNCF STRIKE. The first forecasts for the strike on Thursday, November 21, 2024 have been…
For the last time in his career, Rafael Nadal is playing in the World Cup…
A cable car accident ;éphérique occurred this Tuesday morning on a construction site in Val…
Photo: Christophe Simon Agence France-Presse Since the beginning of the trial, few of the accused…
© Shutterstock/Profit_Image Remember, at the beginning of the season, the French media reported on the…
©Microsoft Just a few days before the launch of Black Friday Week, Amazon is already…