Zelenskyy’s air war resolution
As the war in Ukraine rolls into a new year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made his priority for 2023 clear: building the country’s air defence into ‘‘the most powerful in Europe’’.
In his nightly address yesterday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s air defence would become ‘‘stronger’’ and ‘‘more effective’’ this year. He also underscored the need for a clear energy strategy.
His comments followed a barrage of Russian missiles that pummelled the country this week, leaving 40% of residents in the capital Kyiv without power. It also came hours after an online meeting in which Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping affirmed the military ties between their countries.
Ukraine’s military said its air defences had fended off a fresh overnight attack by drones. The air force said all 16 selfdetonating drones were destroyed. The Kyiv region’s governor, Oleksiy Kuleba, said Ukrainian forces there repelled another drone raid.
The Ukrainian energy grid was restored yesterday to the same level as before the missile strikes, national energy company Ukrenergo said, but challenges continued in the southern and eastern regions.
Meanwhile, Russian offensive operations raged in Bakhmut, Lyman and the Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.
Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said the war was deadlocked.
‘‘We can’t defeat [Russia] in all directions comprehensively. Neither can they,’’ he told the BBC. ‘‘We’re very much looking forward to new weapons supplies, and to the arrival of more advanced weapons.’’
Putin said during the video summit that he expected his ‘‘dear friend’’ Xi to make a state visit early next year, as he vowed to increase military co-operation between their nations.
However, the official Chinese statement on the summit highlighted differences in approach to their developing
alliance, and made no mention of a visit. It emphasised that Beijing’s position on the war in Ukraine would remain ‘‘objective and fair’’.
Hooligans who follow some of Russia’s biggest football teams have set their rivalries aside to fight as part of the invasion force in Ukraine.
The hardcore supporters, more used to battling each other and rival fans in Russia and Europe, recently came together to form a volunteer paramilitary unit. It is part of the rebel forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic,
the self-proclaimed pro-Moscow territory in eastern Ukraine.
Known as Espanola, the unit comprises ultras from ‘‘firms’’ at CSKA Moscow, Zenit, Spartak, Torpedo, Lokomotiv and others, and includes members of the notorious Orel Butchers.
The unit’s commander, Stanislav Orlov, a former member of the CSKA firm RedBlue Warriors, gave Russian state news agency RIA Novosti an interview while stroking Espanola’s mascot, a lion cub named Kia.
Orlov, nicknamed Spaniard, joined the separatists in 2014 when they broke away from Ukraine, and led a reconnaissance unit called Skull and Crossbones. He set up Espanola about three months ago in co-operation with Alexander Khodakovsky, a rebel battalion commander. The unit has its own training ground where recruits are taught to shoot, defuse explosives, fire mortars and grenade launchers, and operate drones and missile defence systems.
‘‘Everything we have is bought with fans’ money,’’ Orlov said. ‘‘We don’t get any money from the state, or from oligarchs, although we’d like to have the support of [famous] footballers.’’
In other Russian media interviews, Orlov said it was a ‘‘real sensation’’ that men from opposing firms had united, but they came from a ‘‘tough if not cruel subculture with high discipline and unique combat preparation’’.
‘‘Disputes among fans of different clubs are prohibited,’’ he added. ‘‘All this must be left far away, just like alcohol.’’
A 30-year-old ultra identified only by his nom de guerre, Crazy, told RIA he was a former member of the CSKA Moscow firm Shady Horse. Now he was on the front line in Donbas, operating an automatic grenade launcher alongside a man who would once have been an enemy: Andrei, a supporter of St Petersburg club Zenit.
Volunteer units have been deployed in an attempt to plug gaps in Russian forces, which have suffered high casualties since the war began in February.