Ukraine-Russia war: Anniversary offencive planned, as Putin seen with ‘nuclear briefcase’
Ukraine warned Russia was launching a major attack on the first anniversary of its invasion, as pictures emerged of Vladimir Putin with a nuclear briefcase. See the pictures.
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Ukraine’s top security official warned that Russia was planning “maximum escalation” on the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
As Volodymyr Zelensky met with European Union leaders in Kyiv in a bid to join the bloc, his Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov outlined Vladimir Putin’s plan for February 24.
“This is a country obsessed by dates,” Danilov told the Times. “Starting with the revolution of 1917, they try to tie all their activities to special dates, to anniversaries. Even at the cost of their own lives, they will do everything to make these anniversaries. And the next they want to do it is February 24.”
The dire warning comes amid chilling photos of the Russian President with his “nuclear briefcase”, in a sabre-rattling move seen as taunting the west.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has previously hinted at Moscow’s “plans” to mark the anniversary, saying countries who held commemorative events would “not be the only ones to gain the world’s attention” that day.
Zelenskyy, who said Russia was building up its troops to take “revenge” on the West for supporting Ukraine, met with European leaders in Kyiv in an attempt to secure more aid and munitions ahead of the anniversary offensive.
Danilov said Moscow has 300,000 newly mobilised recruits in reserve for the attack, aimed at making inroads before the spring thaw turns the icy fields into mud.
“They will try to do the same [as] they did last year,” added Danilov. “You will see them unleash their cruise missiles and try to advance.”
“A year ago all the troops were concentrated on the borders. But now we’re talking about a big mass of people all over the country training all the time,” Danilov added to the Times.
“They have analysed all their mistakes from their last attempt and this time they are attempting to calculate that things will be different.”
PUTIN SEEN WITH NUKE BRIEFCASE
A chilling photo has emerged of Russian President Vladimir Putin with his “nuclear briefcase” in a move to taunt to the West.
Two of Mr Putin’s security guards could be seen carrying black cases as he laid flowers in Volgograd on the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the battle of Stalingrad.
The Russian president was paying tribute to the fallen Soviet soldiers at the Mamayev Kurgan memorial.
One of the briefcases is believed to be a fold-up shield to protect Mr Putin in the event of shooting, while the other is understood to contain the launch button for the Kremlin’s nukes.
The bag — which has a personalised key code and is supervised by an armed security officer — is under 24/7 supervision and understood to control Moscow‘s nuclear arsenal.
One of the security officers pictured just metres from Mr Putin was previously spotted close to him during the Ukraine war.
The briefcase, called Cheget in Russian, was developed in the early 1980s and was shown to the world for first time in 2019, with its contents being viewed up close on TV.
The case is often seen in the hands of an aide and there are reportedly three in total.
It comes as Russia warned it will “gain the world‘s attention” on the one year anniversary of the Ukraine invasion.
PUTIN ‘WILL TAKE REVENGE AGAINST THE FREE WORLD’: ZELENSKYY
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is building up its troops to take “revenge” on the West nearly a year into Moscow’s invasion.
He levelled the warning in Kyiv alongside EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, who said the 27-member bloc was looking to finalise another package of sanctions against Russia by February 24, exactly one year since Russia invaded.
“Now Russia is concentrating its forces. We all know that. It is preparing to try to take revenge, not only against Ukraine, but against a free Europe and the free world,” Zelensky told a joint press conference with von der Leyen.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin arrived in the southern city of Volgograd for commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in Stalingrad.
Putin has insisted that Russia is weathering the barrage of sanctions imposed by Ukraine’s Western allies and will continue its military campaign in Ukraine.
But von der Leyen said existing sanctions were already “eroding” Russia’s economy, “throwing it back by a generation” and estimated that an existing oil price cap alone is costing Moscow around 160 million euros every day.
“We will introduce with our G7 partners an additional price cap on Russian petroleum products and by the 24th of February – exactly one year since the invasion started – we aim to have the 10th package of sanctions in place,” she said.
Von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Thursday with a team of commissioners and the EU’s most senior diplomat Josep Borrell ahead of a Ukraine-EU summit on Friday in the war-torn country that is seeking EU membership.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed the EU and specifically von de Leyen had called for Russia to be defeated so its economy would be devastated for decades.
“Is this not racism, not Nazism – not an attempt to solve ‘the Russian question’” Lavrov said, evoking Russia’s victory against Nazi Germany in World War II.
On the front line, Russian forces are pressing Ukrainian troops in the eastern Donetsk region, now the epicentre of fighting.
Moscow has been trying to seize control of Bakhmut in the industrial region for months in what has become the longest and bloodiest battle of the invasion.
Residents who remain in the war-scarred town told AFP they will not budge if the Russians arrive.
“How could I leave?” said 75-year-old Natalia Shevchenko.
She said she spends so much time sheltering from bombardments in her basement that she feels “like a mole” as she steps out into the light and her eyes adjust.
“Don’t worry,” she told AFP as shells whistled in the background. “They’re far away. I’ve now learnt where they’re going.”
Russian forces have also been shelling the southern region of Kherson, after withdrawing its forces from the region’s main city last year.
A 44-year-old woman was killed by Russian shelling of a residential building in a village in the Black Sea region on Thursday, local officials said.
It comes as Vladimir Putin is preparing for a new invasion of Ukraine as Russia warns the next two months will be “intensive”.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe that an “imminent” Russian offensive on the war-torn nation is “the most likely course of action”.
This was further supported by the head of Ukraine‘s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR), Kyrylo Budanov, who said that he expects the fresh wave of attacks to be focused on the east of the country.
Russian forces have reportedly been expelling Ukrainian civilians from their homes in eastern regions as they gather their military might.
GUR representative Andrii Yusov told Ukrainian TV that the country was on the eve of a “very active phase of the war”.
“Both February and March will be intensive,” he said.
“The skill and motivation of Ukrainian soldiers, plus their equipment and weapons, both domestic and [those sent as] help from international partners, are what will ultimately turn the tide of these offensive actions.”
It comes after the NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg warned that Russia was mobilising 200,000 troops for a fresh offensive.
RUSSIAN TANK WIPES OUT OWN COMRADES
Ukrainian officials have released shocking footage showing the moment a Russian tank commander accidentally took out his own comrades with the vehicle’s turret.
In a clip posted by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence on Twitter, the tank can be seen swerving past another armoured vehicle which appears to be on fire.
It then goes to pass another tank — lined with troops — but the turret accidentally sweeps at least five soldiers from where they are sitting in an apparent own goal.
One of the fallen men appears to have difficulty getting back to his feet but the others appear to be unscathed and flee the scene.
The ministry mocked the Russian army in the caption, saying: “The biggest threat to mobilised Russian infantry are mobilised Russian tankmen.”
The 52-second video, posted on January 27, has now been viewed more than 1.5 million times.
Since Russia’s invasion last year, their military training has come under scrutiny as reports revealed conscripts were given 19th century rifles and lacked supplies.
Last month the ministry shared a video of a Russian tank landing upside down after falling off a train.
Not that we are complaining. But in the future, we ask that the russians be more careful when unloading military equipment. And to remember that every armored vehicle is potential lend-lease equipment for #UAarmy pic.twitter.com/cg6q4CGhRB
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) December 12, 2022
According to Dutch warfare research group Oryx, Russia has lost 1450 tanks since the war began which were either destroyed or taken over by Ukraine, or abandoned by Russian troops.
‘NOT NEGOTIABLE’: IOC STANDS BY RUSSIA BAN
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stood by its sanctions against Russia and Belarus athletes from participating in the 2024 Paris Games.
Tensions over the past week increased after the committee said it was examining a “pathway” for Russians to compete in Paris as neutral athletes rather than under their national flag.
That sparked a furious response from Kyiv, with a Ukrainian presidential aide accusing the IOC of being a “promoter of war”.
“The sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian state and governments are not negotiable,” an IOC spokesman said.
Ukraine threatened to boycott the Paris Games if Russians were allowed to take part, but the head of Russia’s Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov argued for athletes to be able to fully participate.
“Russians must participate exactly on the same conditions as all other athletes. Any additional conditions or criteria are unwelcome, especially any that have political overtones, which are completely unacceptable for the Olympic movement,” he said.
Russia and its ally Belarus, which allowed its territory to be used as a launch pad when Moscow started its offensive in Ukraine last February, have been sidelined from most Olympic sports since the conflict began.
Ahead of the IOC response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s participation in the Paris Olympics would amount to showing that “terror can allegedly be something acceptable”.
Last week, Mr Zelenskyy said he had invited IOC president Thomas Bach to visit the frontline Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, “so that he can see for himself that neutrality does not exist”.
The Olympic Council of Asia, however, last week offered Russian and Belarusian athletes the chance to compete in this year’s Asian Games, arguing that “all athletes, regardless of their nationality or the passport they hold, should be able to compete in sports competitions”.
The significant move would allow athletes from those two countries to achieve qualifying standards they would need to compete in Paris.
The IOC reiterated last week that the international federations for each Olympic sport were “the sole authority for its international competitions”.
EUROVISION OFFICIALLY HANDED OVER
Fans of Eurovision have been left in tears as the contest was officially handed over to Liverpool ahead of the 2023 event.
The city is hosting the annual spectacle on behalf of Ukraine, whose entry Kalush Orchestra won the contest last year in Turin, Italy.
The group’s win was seen as a display of European solidarity against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Due to the war, organisers were forced to break from tradition and the UK was chosen as host nation instead.
The mayor of last year’s host city in Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, handed over the official keys of the Eurovision Song Contest to the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.
She said it was a “truly special and historic moment for our city.”
AUS-FRANCE RELATIONSHIP ‘FULLY REPAIRED’
Australia and France will jointly produce thousands of artillery shells for Ukraine as the two nations symbolically declared they stood side-by-side against Russian aggression.
The declaration was a far cry from the mud-slinging 2021 row after Australia under the Morrison government abandoned a $60 billion dollar order for diesel-powered French submarines in favour of nuclear-powered ones from the United States and Britain.
Meeting their French counterparts in Paris, Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed a joint plan to produce 155mm shells, largely used by the Howitzer field gun.
“There are some unique capabilities that exist in Australia and some synergies that can be achieved by Australia and France working together in relation to the supply of this ammunition,” Mr Marles said, confirming Australia would be supplying the explosive powder for the contract.
“It’s also true that we wanted to act together as a statement about how importantly Australia and France regard the support of Ukraine in the current conflict and both of us have supported Ukraine, separately in other ways, but we wanted to make it really clear that Australia and France do stand together in support of Ukraine in the face of this Russian aggression.”
He declined to give further details but the project was for “several thousand” artillery with the first delivery to Ukraine’s frontline hoped to be in the first quarter of this year.
The multimillion-dollar plan is the latest offer of support for Ukraine by both countries and comes amid growing appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for heavy weaponry and long-term supplies from Western allies nearly a year into Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Mr Marles said the contribution was not huge but would start a steady supply of munitions that was critical “to make sure Ukraine is able to stay in this conflict and see it concluded on its own terms”.
Standing with his French counterparts Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, Mr Marles noted when he referred to them publicly it was by first name since that’s how close Australia-France relations had become.
The meeting was the first since the row over the contract break for submarines, which France was generously compensated for.
While France reaffirmed it remained open to any new deal on submarines for Australia, Mr Marles today made it clear there were no plans to have any conventional-powered interim submarine capability ahead of the nuclear ones expected to come from the AUKUS pact.
But he noted the Franco-Australian alliance was becoming strong again, specifically in its joint determination to ensure a free and open Pacific region. France and Australia agreed they would give each other reciprocal rights to each other’s defence bases.
“This is a step that Australia has only taken with but very few countries, and to be moving down this path with France speaks to how importantly we regard our relationship with France, and our defence relationship with France,” he said.
The deal was healing for the relationship between the two countries, according to France’s ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault.
Mr Thebault agreed with ABC Radio host Patricia Karvelas that the relationship between France and Australia was now “fully repaired”.
“This started with the Prime Ministers' visit in Paris on the first of July last year when he met with President Emmanuel Macron … and they committed to restoring the relationship,” he said.
“This is the result today.”
A change in government in Australia, where centre-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took over from the conservative Morrison in May last year, has enabled both sides to talk up a fresh start.
Mr Albanese travelled to Paris in July where he pledged to act with “trust, respect and honesty” in his dealings with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“I think the personal warmth between the four of us really characterises in a perfect way the return of warmth to the bilateral relationship between Australia and France,” Marles told reporters on Monday.
BORIS MAKES CHILLING CLAIM ABOUT PUTIN
Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to target him with a missile attack before ordering Russian forces into Ukraine.
The apparent threat, which has been denied by the Kremlin, came in a telephone call just ahead of the February 24 invasion, according to a BBC documentary broadcast on Monday, local time.
At the time, Mr Johnson and other Western leaders had been hurrying to Kyiv to show support for Ukraine and try to deter a Russian attack.
“He sort of threatened me at one point and said, ‘Boris, I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute’, or something like that,” Mr Johnson quoted Mr Putin as saying.
The Kremlin on Monday, however, dismissed the accusation as a “lie”.
“What Mr Johnson said is not true. More precisely it’s a lie,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Moreover, this is either a conscious lie – then you need to ask Mr Johnson for what purpose he chose this version of events – or it was unintentional and in fact he didn’t understand what President Putin was talking to him about.”
Mr Johnson has emerged as one of the most impassioned Western backers of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
But prior to the invasion, he says he told Mr Putin that there was no imminent prospect of Ukraine joining NATO, while warning him that any invasion would mean “more NATO, not less NATO” on Russia’s borders.
“He said, ‘Boris, you say that Ukraine is not going to join NATO any time soon. What is any time soon?’ And I said, ‘well it’s not going to join NATO for the foreseeable future. You know that perfectly well’.”
On the missile threat, Mr Johnson added: “I think from the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate.”
It comes as a Moscow proxy official said on Monday that Russian forces were advancing near Vugledar, a town in the eastern Donetsk region, which is the epicentre of fighting in Ukraine, but Kyiv denied the claim.
“Our units continue advancing in the direction of Vugledar,” said Denis Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed leader of the Donetsk region.
“Now we can say that units have established positions in the eastern part of Vugledar, and work is also being carried out in the vicinity,” he said on Russian television.
But a Ukrainian military spokesman in charge of the area said that Russia’s attempted attacks were not successful.
“According to our information, the enemy was hit by fire from firearms and artillery. The enemy had no success and retreated,” Yevgen Yerin told AFP.
“We did not lose our positions,” he added.
According to Pushilin, Ukraine’s forces “had time to gain a foothold” in Vugledar which has a “large number of industrial facilities and high-rise buildings” that facilitate defensive operations.
Kyiv said last week that “fierce” fighting was underway for control of Vugledar, a town that had a population of around 15,000 before the war.
Vugledar is about 150 kilometres south of Bakhmut, where months of fighting have led to heavy losses on both sides.
Pushilin said that “fierce battles” were ongoing near Bakhmut but that it was “too early” to talk about the encirclement of the city.
“Fighting is ongoing, we are holding the defence and inflicting losses on them,” Sergiy Cherevaty, another Ukrainian military spokesman, told AFP.
Kremlin-backed separatists have controlled parts of the industrial region of Donetsk, including its largest city, since 2014.
Moscow now seeks to capture the entire region after declaring it part of Russia last year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the situation on the front was “very tough”, adding that Bakhmut, Vugledar and other areas in the region of Donetsk are “under constant Russian attacks”.
“The enemy doesn’t count its people and, despite numerous casualties, maintains a high intensity of attacks,” Zelenskyy said.
– With AFP
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Originally published as Ukraine-Russia war: Anniversary offencive planned, as Putin seen with ‘nuclear briefcase’
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