Intransigence recital from Moscow: “Ukraine has lost the possibility of existence” – Kyiv: The Russians are ready for a tough fight

A recital of intransigence from Moscow, whose rhetoric portends a continuation of the bloody war in the Ukraine and within 2023.

“Ukraine has lost the possibility of existence as a state,” explained the president of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.

“Ukraine is under NATO occupation and has become a US colony. Washington gives orders to Kyiv. The Ukrainian armed forces are controlled by the Pentagon,” Volodin said.

“The sovereignty of the country has been completely lost. The Kyiv regime cannot independently fulfill its social obligations to its citizens: to pay salaries and pensions. The country’s financial system is being destroyed,” Volodin continued.

Kyiv: Russia is preparing for the fiercest battles in Kherson

At the same time, a senior Ukrainian official predicted that “the fiercest of battles” are to be held in the Russian-held southern province of Kherson, and added that the Russian army was being reinforced to deal with advancing Ukrainian forces.

The eponymous capital of the province, which before the war had about 280,000 inhabitants, is the largest urban center that Russia has brought under its control since it seized it months ago when it launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces do not appear to have gained much ground in their counteroffensive in Kherson, which began earlier this month after Moscow announced it was annexing that Ukrainian region and three others, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia.

“In Chersona, everything is clear. The Russians are resupplying, strengthening their forces there,” said Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“That means no one is preparing to retire. On the contrary, the fiercest battles will be fought for Kherson,” he added.

Of the four provinces annexed by Russia, Kherson is the most important from a strategic point of view. It controls both the road to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, and the mouth of the Dnieper, the huge river that runs through Ukraine.

For weeks, Russian-appointed officials in Kherson have warned that Ukrainian forces are preparing to attack the city and have evacuated thousands of civilians by boat to the eastern banks of the Dnieper.

In the Mykolayiv province, located northwest of the city of Kherson, artillery battles raged yesterday, according to the pro-Russian Rybar Telegram channel.

In the Isshenka region, in the northern part of Kherson, the Urgan forces tried to consolidate their positions, but were forced to retreat, this post noted. According to the same source, the Ukrainian army is preparing to advance along the entire front.

Biden Warns: Using Nuclear Weapons Would be an ‘Extremely Serious Mistake’

US President Joe Biden has again warned Moscow that using nuclear weapons would be an “extremely serious mistake”, as Russia claims Ukraine is close to building a “dirty bomb”, a claim denied by Kyiv and the West.

“Russia would make an extremely serious mistake if it used a tactical nuclear weapon,” President Biden said.

Meanwhile, Moscow informed Washington of impending exercise of its nuclear powers, the American Pentagon confirmed yesterday Tuesday, without going into further details. The exercise is expected to include ballistic missile launches.

“The US has been informed and, as we have previously emphasized, this is a routine annual exercise by Russia,” said Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder. “Therefore, in this regard, Russia is complying with its obligations to control its arsenal and its commitments regarding such notifications for reasons of transparency,” he added.

Ukraine’s Russian winter: “Don’t come back” Ukrainians tell refugees

Ukrainian refugees should not return to the country until the spring to help relieve pressure on the energy system after Russia’s “storm” of attacks, the Ukrainian government has asked residents who have fled the country.

“The networks won’t last. You see what Russia is doing,” Ukrainian Vice President Irina Vereshchuk said on state-run Ukrainian television.

Russian bombing has destroyed at least 1/3 of the country’s energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier admitted. “We have to survive this winter,” noted Ms. Vereschuk in dramatic tones, repeating that “if possible, stay abroad.”

– AMPE

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