MORE than "20,000 civilians" have been slaughtered by since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, a top EU chief has said.
Announcing EU plans to launch a special tribunal to try the Kremlin for its Ukraine war crimes, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, slammed the brutality of Putin's forces.
Sharing a speech on Twitter, she said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought death, devastation and unspeakable suffering…It is estimated that more than 20,000 civilians and more than 100,000 Ukrainian military officers have been killed so far.”
This comes as the Kremlin reveals plans to expand its nuclear arsenal in the coming year.
According to Russian state media, defence minister Sergei Shoigu said: “When preparing the list of major construction facilities for 2023, special attention will be paid to construction in the interests of the strategic nuclear forces."
Read our Ukraine-Russia live blog below for the latest news…
Russia yesterday announced it will be investing in “strategic nuclear forces” next year.
“When preparing the list of major construction facilities for 2023, special attention will be paid to construction in the interests of the strategic nuclear forces,” Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said according to Russian state media RIA news agency.
The Kremlin will reportedly develop new military systems at five bases.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, shared a video address on Twitter this morning where the EU declared it will set up a “specialised” court to try Russian war crimes.
In the video, she said: “Russia must pay for its horrific crimes, including for its crime of aggression against a sovereign state. This is why, while continuing to support the international criminal court, we are proposing to set up a specialised court backed by the United Nations to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression.
“We are ready to start working with the international community to get the broadest international support possible for this specialised court.
“Russia must also pay financially for the devastation that it has caused. The damage suffered by Ukraine is estimated at €600bn. Russia and its oligarchs have to compensate Ukraine for its damage and for the costs for rebuilding the country.”
Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, is in attendance at the NATO meeting in Bucharest this week.
Taking to Twitter, Mr Kuleba shared some details of yesterday’s meeting: “I met with NATO Foreign Ministers to share Ukraine’s needs for this difficult winter.
“Allies made announcements of new deliveries and committed to supporting us for as long as it takes. Ukraine’s victory will ensure peace and security for all.”
The official Vatican website was taken offline on Wednesday following an apparent hacking attack, the Holy See said.
"Technical investigations are ongoing due to abnormal attempts to access the site," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, without giving any further information.
The suspected hack came a day after Moscow criticised Pope Francis's latest condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In an interview with a Jesuit magazine, the pope had singled out troops from Chechnya and other ethnic minorities in Russia for their particular "cruelty" during the war.
The US is "deeply concerned" about American detainee Paul Whelan in Russia and has not been able to get information on his whereabouts or condition from Moscow, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.
Kirby addressed the issue after Whelan's family said this week that they had not heard from Paul Whelan, a former Marine, since Nov. 23, but had seen reports he had been moved to the prison hospital.
"We have been trying to get more information about Mr. Whelan's condition and his whereabouts.
"And as we speak this morning, regrettably, we do not have an update specifically about where he is or what condition he's in," Kirby told reporters in a telephone briefing.
"That deeply concerns us and we certainly share the anxiety and the concern of the land and family," Kirby added.
"We are deeply concerned about the lack of information and the lack of contact from Paul, and we're working on it as hard as we can through the diplomatic channels."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Russia could no longer win the war in Ukraine on the battlefield.
Speaking at the Berlin Security Conference, Scholz also said that Germany took Russia's nuclear rhetoric seriously but would not be cowed by it.
Russia deployed troop reinforcements Wednesday to an area of northern Syria controlled by Kurdish fighters and government troops, residents and a war monitor said, amid fears of a Turkish ground incursion.
The move by Damascus ally Moscow comes after Ankara launched air strikes on Kurdish targets in Syria and Iraq on November 20, a week after a deadly Istanbul bombing that it blamed on Kurdish militants, who have denied responsibility.
Residents of Tal Rifaat, a Kurdish-held pocket north of Aleppo, told AFP that Russian troop reinforcements had reached the city.
Tal Rifaat lies 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of the border with Turkey. Kurdish forces control the city and surrounding villages, and Russian troops were already present in the area.
Residents said Russian forces had set up roadblocks at a nearby village separating it from positions under the control of Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel proxies.
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officials found weapons and Russian cash on Wednesday after searching properties in around Kyiv linked to a pro-Russian former politician, the agency said.
In a statement, the SBU said its searches of homes and offices belonging to Yevhen Murayev, who it said was "hiding from justice abroad", and his associates were part of a criminal investigation into treason.
Murayev's political party and a television channel under his control were seen as vehicles for Kremlin interests in Ukraine before Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion. The party, Nashi, was banned after Russian forces swept into Ukraine.
He had promoted views that aligned with Russian narratives on Ukraine, including that the 2014 Maidan protests in Kyiv were a Western-backed coup and the Kremlin-fuelled war in eastern Ukraine that followed was an internal conflict.
Speaking ahead of NATO’s meeting on Tuesday, the UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, accused Russia of attempting to “freeze Ukrainians into submission” this winter.“
We have seen Vladimir Putin attempting to weaponise energy supplies right from the very start of this conflict,” he said.“
This targeting of civilian infrastructure of energy infrastructure is obviously designed to try and freeze the Ukrainians into submission.”
According to Sumy’s governor, the Kremlin launched a staggering 80 missiles at the region yesterday.
The shells targeted the Krasnopillia, Nova Sloboda, Vorozhba, and Druzhba communities.
No casualties were reported.
Justin Welby has arrived in the capital for a three-day visit to meet with the leaders of Ukraine’s churches, refugees and internally displaced people, the Guardian reports.
Speaking on his arrival, Welby said: “The people of Ukraine have shown extraordinary courage in the face of Russia’s illegal, unjust and brutal invasion. This visit is about showing solidarity with them as they face a profoundly difficult winter.
“I look forward to meeting with church leaders and local Christians in Kyiv, and learning how we can continue to support them amid the ongoing devastation, loss and destruction of this war.
“I urge Christians in the Church of England and around the world to keep praying for the people of Ukraine in this Advent season – along with all people caught up in conflicts around the world – and offering our solidarity and support in every way we can.”
According to the Kyiv Independent, Russia is stocking missiles ahead of another mass missile strike.
Vadym Skibitsky, Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate representative, said Russia was conducting reconnaissance for its next mass missile strike.
He said Russia had enough weapons to bombard Ukraine.
The UK has announced a fresh round of sanctions against 22 Russians, including those the Foreign Office who have promoted and enforced mobilisation to fight in Russia's war on Ukraine.
This includes the Deputy Prime Minister Denis Valentinovich Manturov, who is responsible for overseeing the Russian weapons industry and responsible for equipping mobilised troops.
A further ten governors and regional heads have also been sanctioned.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: ''The Russian regime’s decision to partially mobilise Russian citizens was a desperate attempt to overwhelm the valiant Ukrainians defending their territory. It has failed.
''Today we have sanctioned individuals who have enforced this conscription, sending thousands of Russian citizens to fight in Putin’s illegal and abhorrent war.
''The UK will continue to use both sanctions and military aid to support Ukraine in the defence of their independence.''
According to a report from Sky News, Ukraine is facing its toughest winter yet as Russia continues to target the country's energy infastructure.
With Russia thought already to have bombed more than a third of Ukraine's energy system, energy bosses have predicted the coming months will be the harshest since at least 1991 -when Ukraine gained its independence from the then Soviet Union.
The wife of a crypto tycoon killed in a mystery helicopter crash has hit back at claims he was a Russian spy.
Vyacheslav Taran, 53, died when the chopper came down near Monaco and his grieving widow Olga has insisted, he has actually supported Ukraine.
In the wake of the crash, a Ukrainian news agency reported he had ties to Russia’s foreign intelligence service.
The UNIAN agency report alleged Taran was linked to the SVR foreign espionage agency.
He was responsible for “laundering Russian funds through a system of cryptocurrency operations”, it alleged.
But that claim has been strenuously denied by his wife who said her husband was in fact a supporter of Ukraine and helped the country whenever he could.
She described the allegations against him as “outrageous” and “an absolute and utter lie”.
His wife hit back saying: “My husband never had any connections to the Russian government or any political affiliations."
Read more here.
Russian football hooligans are set to become cannon fodder for Vladimir Putin who is desperate to replenish numbers on the battlefield.
The notorious fans have been allegedly mobilised into the 106th guard division of airborne forces, ready for deployment, following reports the Kremlin could lose more than 100,000 troops before Christmas.
The once-football hooligans are expected to fill the gap and are ready to defend their motherland according to Readovka.
Footage shows about 36 ultra fans marching and undergoing war drills as they prepare for the grim battlefields in Eastern Ukraine.
They are seen wearing skull facemasks pack marching down the road and firing rifles at practice range.
Reports suggest some of the men are from Tula, 125 miles south of Moscow, where FC Tula Arsenal plays.
No identities were given of the supposed draftee hooligans.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko has today reported that an explosion occurred at the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid.
According to Nikolenko one of the embassy employees received minor injuries while inspecting an envelope that exploded after having arrived at the premise.
He also said: ''Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba instructed to strengthen the security of all Ukrainian embassies.
''He also called on the Spanish authorities to urgently investigate this attack.''
An explosive device hidden in an envelop detonated inside the embassy of Ukraine in Madrid. One staff member injured. FM @DmytroKuleba instructed to strengthen the security of all Ukrainian embassies. He also called on the Spanish authorities to urgently investigate this attack.
According to the regional governor, one person was killed and another wounded in Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson today.
Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych wrote on Telegram that several residential buildings and medical facilities had been damaged in the city.
Mr Yanushevych said that a 70-year-old woman was killed at home and a 64-year-old man injured on the street.
According to Sumy’s governor, the Kremlin launched a staggering 80 missiles at the region yesterday.
The shells targeted the Krasnopillia, Nova Sloboda, Vorozhba, and Druzhba communities.
No casualties were reported.
According to a report from the Independent, almost 1million Kyiv residents are currently without power.
This comes as Russia continues its brutal attacks on energy infrastructure.
Per the report, 985,000 people are currently facing freezing weather without electricity in the capital city.
According to the latest intel released by the British Ministry of Defence, Putin has pushed through legislation giving him greater powers to crush opposition in Russia.
The statement reads: “In July 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved amendments to the 2012 ‘Foreign Agents Law’, which has been widely used to repress opponents of the regime. The new measures are scheduled to come into force on 01 December 2022.
“The 2012 law defined ‘foreign agents’ as individuals or organisations who have received financial support from abroad. The amendments will extend the definition to those which are merely under undefined ‘influence or pressure’ of foreign actors.
“The Ministry of Justice will also have the power to publish the personal details and addresses of designated ‘foreign agents’, almost certainly placing them at risk of harassment.
“The new laws will further extend the repressive powers available to the Russian state. This continues a trend since Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, but which has dramatically accelerated since the invasion of Ukraine.
“The Kremlin is likely acting pre-emptively to prevent greater domestic dissent as the conflict remains unresolved and increasingly impacts Russians’ everyday lives.”
Speaking ahead of NATO’s meeting on Tuesday, the UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, accused Russia of attempting to “freeze Ukrainians into submission” this winter.“
We have seen Vladimir Putin attempting to weaponise energy supplies right from the very start of this conflict,” he said.“
This targeting of civilian infrastructure of energy infrastructure is obviously designed to try and freeze the Ukrainians into submission.”
One of Putin’s closest allies has resigned his post in the Russian government, becoming the highest-profile official to do so since the invasion of Ukraine began in February.
Alexei Kudrin, who held the role of head of the Audit Chamber, had his resignation approved today and is reportedly set to join Russian technology company Yandex.
Ukraine and Britain will sign a new digital trade agreement today, giving the under-siege nation access to the UK's financial services as it looks to rebuild its economy.
The deal will be signed in London today by British trade secretary Kemi Badenoch and Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
According to PA Media, Ms Badenoch said: “The landmark digital trade deal agreed today between our two countries paves the way for a new era of modern trade between us.
“This agreement will mean our businesses and governments can collaborate even more and ensure Ukrainians have access to essential goods and services [that] digital trade opens up.”
The Zaporizhzhia region was hit with further shelling last night, according to Oleksandr Starukh, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration.
The attacks hit a gas distribution point, causing a fire.
Taking to Telegram, he penned: “In one of the settlements of the Zaporizhzhia district, a gas distribution point was damaged as a result of a rocket (probably S-300) hit, resulting in a fire.
"It was quickly eliminated, but three streets remained without gas. Fortunately, people were not hurt."
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