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War
One thousand four hundred and third day. Russia launched a massive attack on Kyiv on the eve of negotiations between Trump and Zelensky
Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us the thoughts you have about the war. What feelings are you experiencing? How does war affect you, your life, the lives of your loved ones and your attitude towards the world? The feedback form is at the end of this article. You can read the previous day's review here .
Ukraine
The Russian armed forces attacked regions of Ukraine on the night of December 27, using drones and missiles. The main target was Kiev, said Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. According to him, Russia used almost 500 drones in one night, as well as 40 missiles, including those fired from the Kinzhal complex.
According to Zelensky, energy facilities and residential buildings were hit. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine stated that more than 10 residential buildings were damaged. Monitoring publics reported that the target of the attack in Kyiv was thermal power plants.
Update. As of 14:30 Moscow time, in Kiev, as a result of an attack by the Russian Armed Forces, one person was killed and 32 people were injured, including two children. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that another person died in Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region.
The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine stated that Russia dealt a massive blow to the country’s energy system. Consumers in Kyiv, Kyiv and Chernigov regions were left without electricity. According to Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko, in Kiev and the Kiev region, energy workers are working to restore the supply of electricity to 600 thousand consumers.
In Kiev, there is no electricity in some areas on the left bank of the Dnieper. In addition, part of the city was left without heating. As Klitschko stated , more than 2,600 residential buildings, 187 kindergartens, 138 schools and 22 social institutions were left without heat supply.
Zelensky, commenting on the attack on Kyiv, said that Russia does not want to end the war:
There were a lot of questions these days. Where is the Russian response to the proposals to end the war that were provided by the United States and the world? Russian representatives have long conversations, but in reality, “daggers” and “martyrs” speak for them. This is the real attitude of Putin and his entourage. They do not want to end the war and are trying to use every opportunity to cause more pain to Ukraine and increase their pressure on others in the world.
And that means there isn't enough pressure to respond. If Russia even turns Christmas and New Year's time into a time of destroyed houses and burned apartments, destroyed power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with really strong steps. America has this opportunity, Europe has this opportunity, many of our partners have this opportunity. The main thing is to take advantage of it.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, in turn, stated that the Russian Armed Forces launched a massive strike “in response to Ukrainian terrorist attacks on civilian targets on Russian territory.” The targets of the strike were energy infrastructure facilities and enterprises of the military-industrial complex, the Russian ministry said.
World
Russia attacked Ukraine on the eve of negotiations between Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump. Their meeting is scheduled for December 28 at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, starting at 11 p.m. Moscow time.
Before the meeting, Zelensky said that he was going to discuss with Trump the framework for ending the war, as well as agree on more favorable conditions for the territories of Donbass, which Russia demands. According to him, many aspects of bilateral agreements between the United States and Ukraine have already been determined. Thus, the United States offered Ukraine security guarantees for 15 years with the possibility of extending the treaty. “But we need more than 15 years,” Zelensky said in an interview with Axios. He hopes Trump will agree to extend this period.
At the same time, Trump said in an interview with Politico that he expected to have a “good” meeting with the Ukrainian president. He warned that Zelensky “will not have anything until I approve it.” Trump added that he was soon going to speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
American and European officials, CNN reported, hope the meeting between Trump and Zelensky will be productive. At the same time, the Europeans admitted that the outcome of any meeting with Trump is unpredictable. “There are no safe options with Trump,” one NATO official told the station.
European politicians will not participate in the meeting in Florida, CNN notes. However, European leaders will speak by phone with Trump and Zelensky the day before the talks, on December 27.
War in photographs. Consequences of the attack on Kyiv
War through the eyes of Meduza readers
How we choose letters
Meduza's readers live in different countries and have different attitudes towards the war. We publish your letters to see this event through your eyes. Our editors try to present all points of view, even if they do not coincide with the editorial position. However, in accordance with the Meduza code, we do not publish messages that contain “hate speech,” justify the murder of civilians, or express direct support for an aggressive war.
Elena (St. Petersburg) . From the very beginning - whatever, even from “Krymnash” I feel like one of the victims of this war. No, drones are not flying over my house, rockets are not whistling, I am not sitting in the basement, I am not injured, I have not lost loved ones. And no, I didn't leave. I continue to live in my beautiful city, which decorates itself for the New Year and pretends that everything is fine. But my world has fallen apart - and it doesn't look like it will ever get back together.
It seems that I did not harbor any special illusions; I always understood that my homeland is, to put it mildly, a difficult place. And I realized long ago that the vast majority of my fellow citizens are passive, overly patient people, for generations, since kindergarten, thanks to a special style of education, affected by the syndrome of learned helplessness, which I tirelessly struggle with in myself.
I understood roughly what the leadership of my country was like. And yet this depth of the abyss and the swiftness with which we fell into it amazed me and continues to amaze me. Still, it seemed that the horrors of the 20th century were behind us, that humanization was happening, that globalization was happening, that international institutions were working, that too many of our citizens had managed to see the world, feel the delights of freedom and democracy, so that this paste could be pushed back into the tube... But no, they are pushing it, and quite successfully!
I was also struck by the helplessness of the free world in the face of aggressive, arrogant, self-righteous evil. How slowly, how uncertainly and ineptly this world, which seemed large and strong, tried to resist this evil, and meanwhile it grew stronger, asserted itself and gave birth to metastases in other regions, shaking the foundations of this world... Now, finally, more serious attempts have begun to stop this massacre. I really want the blood to stop flowing and the destruction to stop. But in fact, the conditions on which they are now trying to make peace are encouraging the aggressor. Well, it turns out they achieved their goal? And they set an example for dictators around the world: attack, kill, annex territories, and you won’t get anything for it, Trump himself will meet you at the plane’s ramp, rolling out the red carpet […].