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The Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, inspected and flew over the positions of his Army deployed in Ukraine, after discussions with Vladimir Putin about new war strategies. Meanwhile, kyiv restored power to 6 million people, but supply problems remain after a barrage of attacks from Moscow. In other news, FIFA has rejected a peace message prepared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski for the World Cup final on Sunday.
Aboard an Air Force helicopter, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu flew over what he says are parts of Ukrainian territory where the invading troops are deployed.
The Kremlin’s military high command also spoke with soldiers “on the front line” and at a “command post.” However, it is not confirmed when the visit took place, whose images were released this Sunday, December 18.
“The head of the Russian army flew around the troop deployment areas and verified the forward positions of the Russian units in the area of the special military operation,” the Defense Ministry said in a Telegram message.
The disclosure of the short video that shows a couple of aerial shots of empty strips of land comes a day after the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior commanders of his Army, including Shoigu, to discuss Moscow’s next steps in the conflict that he ordered almost 10 months ago and which he refers to as a “special military operation” to “denazify” Ukraine.
UK MoD: Russian troop morale significantly ‘fragile’
While the Russian government shows that it is aware of its military, the UK Ministry of Defense, whose intelligence agencies monitor the war, issued a report on Sunday stating that the morale of Russian troops is “fragile” and ” significant”.
London says the concerns of Russian soldiers center mainly on very high fatality rates in their units, poor leadership, pay problems, a lack of equipment and ammunition, and a lack of clarity about the goals of the war.
The British ministry added that the establishment of two front-line “creative brigades” tasked with boosting troop morale by providing entertainment and musical instruments, among other measures, “is unlikely to substantially alleviate these concerns.”
Ukraine restores power to 6 million people, but supply problems remain
The Ukrainian authorities reported that they managed to restore energy service to 6 million people in the country, after the barrage of Russian airstrikes on December 14, one of the largest attacks since the conflict began.
In kyiv, the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the water supply has been restored and 75% of the city’s population has regained heating.
In the eastern city of Kharkiv, electricity service has also been resumed, according to regional governor Oleg Sinegubov.
However, the same recovery is not present in the whole country, after the bombings of Moscow destroyed a large part of the crucial structure to provide these services.
President Volodimir Zelenski assured that, despite the advances of the Ukrainian experts, there are still ongoing problems with the supply of water and heating and there are “large-scale cuts” of energy and water service in many regions.
“There is still a lot of work to be done to stabilize the system,” the president said.
FIFA rejects Zelensky’s peace message for World Cup final
The Ukrainian head of state asked the International Football Federation (FIFA) for authorization to broadcast a message of peace on video, which he recorded with the intention of broadcasting this Sunday, December 18, at the World Cup final, which the selections of Argentina and France are disputed.
However, FIFA rejected the proposal, pointing out that it violates political neutrality, sources from the Ukrainian Presidency said.
After the rejection, the head of state disseminated the statements through his social networks.
“This World Cup demonstrates once that the differences between peoples and countries must be decided in a fair game, not in a game with fire,” says the Ukrainian leader in his message, collected on the Ukrinform portal.
Zelensky asks in his speech for support to cease Russian hostilities in his country and restore calm.
“Let’s see the Cup final together and let’s see the end of the war together,” concludes the President of Ukraine.
With Reuters and EFE
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