Prepared by Anna Dovha, Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska
Photo: Zelenskyi Official telegram channel
Cities under attack.
Kherson region. On December 3, the Russian invaders shelled the territory of the Kherson region 28 times. Due to the attack on Kherson, private houses and an oncological clinic were damaged. One person was injured. The next day, on December 3, the Russian invaders shelled the territory of the region 46 times. As a result of the shelling, private houses and multi-apartment buildings, civil infrastructure facilities were damaged. One person was killed and 2 people were injured in the region. Dnipropetrovsk region. At night on December 3, the Russian military attacked the city of Nikopol. As a result, around 20 private houses, household buildings, power grids and gas stations were damaged. Also, the Russian invaders damaged 50 solar panels. On December 4, the Russian invaders continued shelling the Nikopol district. In Chervohohryhorivska community, 5 private houses, household buildings, garages, and energy grids were damaged. One person was killed in the village of Kaulivka. Donetsk region. On november 2, the Russian military fired at the city of Kostantynivka. As a result, 3 administration buildings and 2 three-story buildings were damaged. During the day, 1 person was killed and 4 people were injured in the region. At night on December 3, the Russian invaders attacked Kupakhove. 8 multi-story buildings, 3 private houses were damaged and one person was injured in the city. Also, 2 people were injured in Bakhmut. In addition, a private house, an administrative building and an enterprise were damaged in the city.
Cities under occupation.
Donetsk region. In the temporarily occupied Mariupol, the Russian occupiers began to massively demolish damaged high-rise buildings in order to hide the traces of war crimes, as evidenced by satellite images. In addition the satellite images show that Russia is consolidating its military presence in the city by constructing a large army facility. Images of the city’s graveyard appear to show it being extended as BBC reports that 1500 new graves have been dug at the cemetery. Also, in occupied Makiivka, where there is no centralized water supply due to Russian military actions, Russian occupiers hand out summonses to men at water points. Zaporizhzhia region. The occupying administration brought teachers from Dagestan to the temporarily occupied Melitopol to teach according to Russian educational programs because most of the Ukrainian educators refused to work with the Russian occupiers.
Human rights.
According to the National Police of Ukraine, more than 9400 civilians have died and about 6800 have been injured since the beginning of the full-scale invasion due to the actions of the Russian military. Among the dead were 461 children.
Representatives of the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine stated that Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law and constitute a war crime. According to Commissioner Pablo de Greif, attacks on infrastructure violate fundamental human rights, such as the right to health, education for children, etc. Commissioner Yasminka Dzhumkhur also noted that the Сommission is trying to establish contact with Russia, but without success.
War crimes prosecution.
The Russian military uses banned chemical weapons, K-51 aerosol grenades, against Ukrainian defenders in the East of Ukraine.
The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine calls for the creation of a register of war victims and programs for compensations, in particular through reparations.
Foreign policy.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the West should consider how to address Russia’s need for security guarantees if President Vladimir Putin agrees to negotiations about ending the war in Ukraine. In response, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksii Danilov, said that ‘the denuclearized and demilitarized so-called Russia is the best guarantee of peace for Europe and the world.’ Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use the peace talks with Ukraine to stock up on weapons for the Russian army before launching the next attack. In addition, the Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia is attempting to capitalize on the Western desire for negotiations to create a dynamic in which Western officials feel pressed to make preemptive concessions to lure Russia to the negotiating table.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, reported that as of December 3, Ukrainian diplomats in 12 countries had received 18 threats. In particular, he reported on packages with threats in the form of torn out animal eyes sent to the Ukrainian Embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Vatican, and France.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that Hungary does not support the plans of the European Union to provide Ukraine with an aid package worth 18 billion euros, planned for 2023.
Economic security.
The state budget of Ukraine received $1.5 billion from the USA. This is the first part of the grant from the USA through the Trust Fund of the World Bank, which amounts to $4.5 billion.
The government of Ukraine has currently allocated over 5 billion UAH to the regions most affected by the hostilities. These are funds specifically for the restoration of critical infrastructure and other priority items, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said.
Sanctions.
A $200m yacht owned by a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, an oligarch and friend of Vladimir Putin who is under sanctions, is to be sold at auction after its seizure in Croatia earlier this year. The money will be transferred to Ukraine.
Switzerland reported that as of 25 November, the total of frozen Russian financial assets amounts to CHF 7.5 billion; 15 properties in 6 cantons are also blocked.
Reconstruction.
World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bjerde stated that the cost of rebuilding Ukraine’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed by Russia since February 24 will cost from €500 to €600 billion.
Energy security.
On December 2, Australia and G7 countries agreed to impose a cap on Russian oil prices at $60 per barrel. The same decision was made by the EU countries, which agreed on a price cap at $60 per barrel. Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto reported that Hungary was exempted from imposing a limit on the price of oil from Russia. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi criticized the decision and called it a ‘weak position.’ ‘Russia has already caused colossal damage to all countries of the world by deliberately destabilizing the energy market, and the world cannot dare to truly disarm it in terms of energy,’ he said.
Food security.
Russia stole $1 billion of wheat in occupied territories of Ukraine, according to research using satellite imagery from NASA’s food security and agriculture program.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, announced that on December 2, the third vessel entered the port of Odessa as part of the Grain from Ukraine initiative. 25 thousand tons of humanitarian wheat will be sent to Somalia. He also noted that another ship is finishing loading 30000 tons of wheat in the port of Chornomorsk and will be heading to Ethiopia. The first ship under this program is currently heading to Ethiopia.
Digital security.
Google will provide $2 million for digital education for Ukrainians and 50000 Workspace licenses for the Ukrainian government.
Awards.
Ukrainian human rights defender Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, was included in the list of the 25 most influential women in the world according to the rating of the British edition of the Financial Times.
Reading corner.
- FT Person of the Year: Volodymyr Zelenskyy. ‘I am more responsible than brave’ | Financial Times – ‘The president of Ukraine embodies the resilience of his people and has become a standard bearer for liberal democracy.’
- The West needs to support Ukraine’s agricultural sector — now | POLITICO – Andriy Vadaturskyy became the owner and CEO of Nibulon after his mother and father, the company’s founder, were killed when a Russian missile struck their home on July 31. NIBULON company is one of the leading investors, exporters of agricultural products, lessors of warehouse capacities and agricultural products producers in Ukraine.
- ‘Our mission is crucial’: meet the warrior librarians of Ukraine | The Guardian – The libraries are on the frontline. The Russians targeted them from the beginning. In the initial invasion, Russian forces demolished the state archives in Chernihiv, a target containing sensitive NKVD and KGB information about Soviet-era repressions that the Russians wanted erased from the historical record. They ransacked the archives in Bucha just as they looted every cultural institution they conquered. They gutted the archival department in Ivankiv for no good reason.
Christmas in the air.
- ‘Carol of the Bells’ is one of the most recognizable Christmas songs across the world that gained its popularity one hundred years ago. In 1922, a Ukrainian People’s Republic’s choir performed Mykola Leontovych’s ‘Shchedryk’, the original title of the song, for the first time at Carnegie Hall. In 1936, American choir conductor and composer Peter Wilhousky wrote new English lyrics that turned ‘Shchedryk’ into ‘Carol of the Bells.’ This year marks the centennial of the famous U.S. tour by the Ukrainian People’s Republic’s choir conducted by renowned musician Oleksandr Koshyts where they first performed the all-time-favorite Carol of the Bells or Shchedryk. Learn more about the song in the NPR podcast ‘ 100 years ago, ‘Carol of the Bells’ came to America — from Ukraine’ and watch yesterday’s stream from Carnegie Hall ‘Notes From Ukraine: A 100-Year Celebration of “Carol of the Bells’ celebrating the centennial of the song.
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., December 05, 2022: personnel – around 91 690, tanks ‒ 2924, APV ‒ 5900, artillery systems – 1914, MLRS – 395, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 211, fixed-wing aircraft – 281, helicopters – 264, operational-tactical level UAV – 1582, cruise missiles – 531, boats and light speed boats – 16, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 4497, special equipment – 163.
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