Kiev and Moscow have said that the arrival of winter will not stop the fighting. But the two countries have a very different outlook on the months to come. Volodymyr Zelensky went to Odessa for a visit. The President had a meeting with military leaders, law enforcement leaders and regional authorities on the situation in the city and the region.
“The goal is to prepare for winter, protect our population, infrastructure and energy from Russian terrorism.” We read it in a press note. During the meeting, preparations for the heating season, protection of energy facilities, the consequences of the Russian bombing of port infrastructure and the needs of the air defense system were discussed in detail.
“We are working both at the national level, in Ukraine, and with partners to provide greater protection to the state and the people,” Zelensky added.
In Ukraine, a unified register of shelters is being created to protect the population. The housing fund in Ukraine has tripled, but it allows to protect only half of the population.
It is officially reported that the total protection facilities in the country amount to more than 60,560 shelters: of which more than 5,200 are storage facilities, 14 thousand anti-radiation shelters and over 41 thousand are the simplest and double protection shelters.
It should be noted that previously there were around 20 thousand registered protection structures, but now there are already more than 60 thousand. However, 50 thousand of them are suitable to be hosted and of these 50 thousand another part is simply closed.
By the end of the year the United States will begin supplying Ukraine with aircraft, particularly F-16s. Russia, as a result, will have to increase its momentum. And without the “winged metal” – aluminum, it is impossible to ensure an increase in production. Russian aluminum is Russia’s strategic reserve, a key factor in victory in the war of attrition.
Another step that the Russian Federation is taking is to rethink the geography of its districts with an eye to the Arctic, which will become an important economic district due to oil but also an indiscreet eye on the United States.
Sixteen settlements, to be exact, are now included in the list of support territories of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. “The list of supporting territories of the Arctic zone has been drawn up,” said Maxim Dankin, director of the department for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and the implementation of projects of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
“These 16 settlements” defined as “strongholds” are: “the Murmansk agglomeration, which includes the base of the Northern Fleet and the closed administrative city of Severomorsk, the Kirov-Apatistkaya agglomeration, the Monchegorsk agglomeration, the Kem-Belomorskaya agglomeration in the Republic of Karelia, Arkhangelsk agglomeration, Naryan-Mar agglomeration, in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District – Novy Urengoy, Noyabrsk, Salekhard. In Komi – the Vorkuta agglomeration, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory – Norilsk, Dudinka, Dikson, Tiksi in Yakutia, from Chukotka – Pevek, Anadyr”, he said during a meeting of the Headquarters for the Development of Cities and Other Settlements in the area arctic of the Russian Federation. The project is currently very controversial. The governor of the Murmansk region, Chibis, has seen many inhabitants leave due to the deterioration of the infrastructure but now Putin has decided to give new importance to the district.
Graziella Giangiulio
