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NATO says Moscow is using winter as a ‘weapon of war’
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Ukraine asks NATO partners for more air defenses, manufacturers
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Zelenskiy says that Russia is planning to move south
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According to Russian officials, the Ukraine attacks caused some power outages
By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV, Nov 30 (Reuters) – NATO allies promised Kyiv more weapons and equipment to help restore Ukraine’s sovereignty and security after being hit by Russian weapons, the President said. of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Moscow’s forces are trying to advance in several areas.
Ukrainians on Tuesday fled to bomb shelters after the air-raid warning sounded, although the alarm was later echoed across the country. East of Donetsk, Russian forces pounded Ukrainian targets with artillery, mortars and tanks.
Zelenskiy said Russian forces were also attacking Luhansk in the east and Kharkiv in the northeast, territory recaptured by Ukraine in September.
“The situation in the past is difficult,” Zelenskiy said in his late night video message. “Despite the high casualties, residents are still trying to make progress” in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv. And “they’re planning something down south,” he said.
Ukraine regained control of Kherson in the south this month after Russian troops withdrew. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
Foreign ministers from the NATO alliance, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, began a two-day meeting in Bucharest on Tuesday, looking for ways to keep the countries safe and warm. Ukraine and keep Kyiv’s troops in the coming winter war.
“We need air defense, IRIS, Hawks, Patriots, and communicators (for our military needs),” Ukrainian Interior Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters on the sidelines of the NATO meeting, and coordination of various Western air defense systems.
“In short: Patriots and transformers are what Ukraine needs.”
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
warning
NATO to provide Ukraine with Patriot defense systems and condemned the Atlantic alliance as a “criminal entity” for supplying weapons to what it called “Ukrainian fanatics.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “trying to use winter as a weapon of war” as Moscow’s troops lose ground on the battlefield.
US and European officials said the ministers would focus their talks on non-disaster aid such as fuel, medical supplies and winter equipment, as well as military aid. Washington announced that it will provide $53 million to purchase electronic equipment.
US President Joe Biden has said that providing military aid to Ukraine is a priority, but Republicans, who controlled the House of Representatives in January, have talked about ending the funding. , which has exceeded $18 billion.
USE OF THE BODY
Russia has carried out massive attacks on power supply and heating infrastructure every week since October, in what Kyiv and its allies say is a campaign of violence against civilians and a war crime.
In Kyiv, snow fell and temperatures turned below freezing as millions in and around the city struggled to keep their homes warm. A power company official said on Facebook that 985,500 customers in Kyiv were without power, and another power provider said the city would cut emergency power on Wednesday.
In a short message on Telegram, the governor of Kherson region Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Sunday that electricity has been restored to half of the city of Kherson.
Ukrainian forces hit a power plant in Russia’s Kursk region on Sunday, knocking out some power, Roman Starovoyt, the region’s governor, said on the Telegram messaging application.
According to Moscow, the aim is not to harm civilians but to end their suffering if Kyiv accepts its demands, which have not yet been written. Although Kyiv says it will shoot down most incoming missiles, the damage is piling up with each hit.
A top U.S. military official said Tuesday that Russia is firing surface-to-air missiles designed to deliver nuclear warheads at targets in Ukraine in an attempt to clear Kyiv’s defenses. air.
The worst fall so far was November 23, leaving millions of Ukrainians cold and miserable. Zelenskiy told Ukrainians earlier this week to wait for the next one to get worse.
There is no political solution to end the war. Moscow has annexed Ukrainian territory it says it will never give up; Ukraine says it will fight for the survival of all occupied countries.
Kyiv said it needed weapons to help it end the war – by winning.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Cynthia Osterman; Editing by Chris Reese)
