MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin has blasted the West for seeking to “tear apart” Russia and declared in an interview carried on national television that his action in Ukraine meant to “unite the Russian people”.
Tear apart
Russian air defense personnel shot down a Ukrainian drone early on Monday as it approached a Russian airbase, according to press reports. The debris killed three people. The drone was around 100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
According to the defense ministry’s statement to the news agency, “Three Russian technical soldiers who were at the (Engels military) airfield were critically injured as a result of the fall of the debris of the drone.”
According to Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Kyiv, Ukraine will also demand on Monday that Russia give up its veto-wielding permanent position on the influential UN Security Council.
It occurs a day after Putin accused his nation’s “geopolitical opponents” of attempting to split apart Russia, historical Russia.
In order to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty and defend his 10-month offensive there, Putin has used the idea of “historical Russia” to argue that Russians and Ukrainians are one nation.
“Divide and conquer, that’s what they’ve always sought and continue to seek,” Putin said in an interview.
“But our purpose is different: we want to bring the Russian people together.” When questioned about the new air defence system that the United States will give to Ukraine, he reaffirmed that Moscow was willing to negotiate and sounded unconcerned.
Naturally, we will completely destroy it. Putin made the comment in reference to the Patriot missile battery Volodymyr Zelensky had been promised.
Kherson terror
Foreign Minister Kuleba declared in televised remarks Sunday night that Russia had lost its claim to a permanent Security Council seat.
We have a straightforward inquiry: Does Russia have the legal right to continue as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to even be a part of the UN? said he.
The issue had been brought up in diplomatic circles at the “lower level,” he continued, adding that “we have a convincing and reasoned answer – no, it does not.” Russia, the United States, France, Britain and China are the five permanent members of the influential Security Council, which has 15 seats and has the authority to veto any resolution.
Biden gave Zelensky firm assurances of support last week during his first trip outside of Ukraine since the start of the conflict, including the Pentagon’s most advanced air defence system.
Western military and financial support have been crucial for Ukraine to expel Russian forces, particularly from Kherson, the only regional capital that was under Russian control. The city is still under constant threat from Moscow’s weapons despite Russia’s retreat from it.
The partially retaken Kherson region saw 71 strikes from the Ukrainian army on Saturday, including 41 on the city. One such incident involved deadly shelling on a bustling market in the middle of the city, which left 10 people dead and 55 injured.
Using the shelling as an excuse to accuse Russia, Vladimir Saldo, the regional governor of Kherson who was appointed by Russia, claimed on Telegram.
In his daily address on Sunday, Zelensky criticized Russian “terrorists” and thanked all of his countrymen who had helped defend Ukraine, including soldiers, medical professionals, and volunteers.
“Thank you to everyone who helped out in Kherson. To protect the injured from a Christmas terrorist attack,” Zelensky said.
Defiant Christmas
Church bells rang on Sunday as Orthodox Christians attended Christmas services across the city of Kyiv, breaking with the Russian spiritual authorities who will celebrate the holiday in two weeks. Olga Stanko, a worshipper at a service in the heart of Kyiv, told AFP she backed any action that would set Ukraine apart from Russia.
She said, “The war has caused us so much pain. “We cannot continue to be influenced by Russia while doing this.” The decision by some churches in Ukraine to celebrate Christmas on December 25 highlights the widening gulf between Moscow and Kyiv’s religious authorities.
Using the shelling as an excuse to accuse Russia, Vladimir Saldo, the regional governor of Kherson who was appointed by Russia, claimed on Telegram.
Since at least the 17th century, Moscow had been the country’s spiritual leader. However, in 2019 a portion of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church severed ties with Moscow in protest of the country’s annexation of Crimea and its support of separatists in the east.
The Orthodox Church in Ukraine which receives support from Russia also severed ties with Moscow in May.
Pope Francis demanded an end to the fighting from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The Argentine pontiff exclaimed, “May the Lord… enlighten the minds of those who have the ability to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war!”
