1 year ago
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By Tom Balmforth and Valentyn Ogirenko
KYIV (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said the concern successful 4 areas of Ukraine that Moscow has declared are portion of Russia was "extremely difficult" arsenic Kyiv renewed calls for much weapons aft Russian drones deed vigor targets.
In comments made connected Security Services Day, which is wide celebrated successful Russia, Putin besides ordered the strengthening of Russia's borders and instructed peculiar services to support greater power of nine and guarantee the information of radical successful Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine.
In September, a defiant Putin moved to annex a swathe of Ukraine — immoderate 15% of the state — successful a Kremlin ceremony, but earlier this month, helium said the warfare "can beryllium a agelong process."
To Russian information agencies operating successful Ukraine, helium said precocious connected Monday successful comments translated by Reuters: "Yes, it is hard for you now. The concern successful the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, successful the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is highly difficult."
Putin's determination to annex the areas was condemned by Kyiv and its Western allies arsenic illegal.
On Monday, Putin made his archetypal sojourn to Belarus since 2019, wherever helium and his counterpart extolled ever-closer ties astatine a quality league precocious successful the evening but hardly mentioned Ukraine.
Kyiv, meanwhile, was seeking much weapons from the West aft Russian "kamikaze" drones deed vigor targets.
"Weapons, shells, caller defence capabilities...everything that volition springiness america the quality to velocity up the extremity to this war," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said successful his evening address.
The Ukrainian subject precocious bid said their aerial defences had changeable down 23 of 28 drones — astir implicit the superior Kyiv — successful what was Moscow's 3rd aerial onslaught successful six days. Russia has targeted Ukraine's powerfulness grid, causing blackouts amid sub-zero temperatures.
The drone strikes caused nary casualties, though 9 buildings were damaged successful the Kyiv region, it said.
The Ukrainian atomic vigor bureau accused Russia of sending 1 of the drones implicit portion of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant successful the Mykolaiv region.
The "kamikaze" drones utilized successful the attacks are cheaply produced, disposable unmanned craft that alert toward their people earlier plummeting astatine velocity and detonating connected impact.
BELARUS ACTIVITY
To the northwest of Ukraine, determination has been changeless Russian and Belarusian subject enactment for months successful Belarus, a adjacent Kremlin state that Moscow's troops utilized arsenic a motorboat pad for their abortive onslaught connected Kyiv successful February.
Putin's travel was his archetypal to Minsk since the pandemic and a question of Belarusian thoroughfare protests successful 2020 that Belarusian person Alexander Lukashenko crushed with enactment from the Kremlin.
Ukraine feared the discussions would beryllium astir the broader engagement of Belarusian equipped forces successful the invasion. Putin and Lukashenko scarcely touched connected Ukraine astatine a post-talks quality conference, alternatively extolling the benefits of defence and economical alignment.
Lukashenko has said repeatedly helium has nary volition of sending his country's troops into Ukraine, wherever Moscow's penetration faltered severely with a drawstring of battlefield retreats successful the look of a large counter-offensive.
The Kremlin connected Monday dismissed the proposition that Putin wanted to propulsion Belarus into a much progressive role. The RIA Novosti quality bureau quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov arsenic saying specified reports were "groundless" and "stupid".
Both Putin and Lukashenko were besides astatine pains to disregard the thought of Russia annexing oregon absorbing Belarus.
"Russia has nary involvement successful absorbing anyone," Putin said. "There is simply nary expediency successful this ... It's not a takeover, it's a substance of argumentation alignment."
Asked astir this comment, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said it should beryllium treated arsenic the "height of irony", fixed it was "coming from a person who is seeking astatine the contiguous moment, close now, to violently sorb his different peaceful next-door neighbor."
Russian troops that moved to Belarus successful October volition behaviour battalion tactical exercises, Russia's Interfax quality bureau reported, citing the defence ministry. It was not instantly wide erstwhile they would start.
FIGHTING GRINDS ON
The 10-month-old struggle successful Ukraine, the largest successful Europe since World War Two, has killed tens of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes and reduced cities to ruins.
Ukraine's General Staff said Russian artillery hammered 25 towns and villages astir Bakhmut and Avdiivka successful the eastbound and respective areas astir Kupiansk, a northeastern municipality retaken by Ukraine successful September.
It besides said Ukrainian aerial and artillery forces carried retired much than a twelve strikes connected Russian troops and hardware, including ammunition dumps, and changeable down 2 helicopters.
Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-installed politician of the metropolis of Donetsk, said Ukrainian shelling deed a infirmary wing, on with a kindergarten, posting connected Telegraph a photograph of what appeared to beryllium a waiting country with smashed furnishings and fittings.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts of either side.
Russia says it is waging a "special subject operation" successful Ukraine to escaped it of nationalists and support Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and the West picture the Kremlin's actions arsenic an unprovoked warfare of aggression.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Costas Pitas; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Cynthia Osterman)
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