#UKRAINERUSSIAWAR. Zelensky bans canonical orthodoxy in Ukraine. Nothing done in Putin-Sholz talks. Stable situation on the Svatove – Kreminna front

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On the second of December, the President of Russia had a telephone conversation with the German Chancellor. Vladimir Putin called on Olaf Scholz to reconsider Germany’s approach in the context of the Ukrainian events. Putin told Scholz that the attacks against targets in Ukraine were a forced response to Kiev’s provocations, including the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge.

Still on the subject of Russian diplomacy, the Russian Foreign Ministry said: ‘Russia is outraged by the statement of the French Foreign Ministry on the creation of a “special tribunal” to investigate the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, it will have nothing to do with justice’.

Also from Russian sources, the advisor to the general director of the Rosenergoatom Consortium Renat Karchaa denied media reports about the alleged surrender of the Zaporizhiye nuclear power plant in exchange for a stable transit of gas and oil from the Russian Federation through Ukraine. According to Rossiya-24 channel correspondent Olga Kurlaeva, Karchaa said in a personal conversation that there were no signs of “abandonment” from the station. “On the contrary: money is being invested in modernisation, staff are being recruited in various facilities and more than 2,500 employees have signed contracts,” Karcaa added. In the early hours of the morning, a fire broke out in the station after a bombing.

On the other side of the fence, in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reports that ‘Ukraine’s embassies in five European countries received packages with animal blood. The Foreign Ministry stated that after the terrorist attack in Spain, the embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, and the consulates in Naples, Krakow, and Brno received bloody packages with animal eyes, soaked in a liquid of a characteristic colour and with a corresponding smell. In addition, the ambassador’s residence in the Vatican was vandalised and Kazakhstan received a report of a package bomb, which has not been confirmed’. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers this to be a campaign of terror and attempts at intimidation. Therefore, all embassies and consulates have been moved into enhanced security measures mode. As we write, the Ukrainian embassy in Spain has again been surrounded by police due to a bomb threat.

Zelensky announced preparations to ban canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine. A law was passed in the late afternoon of 2 December.

Also from the Ukrainian political world comes the following statement: ‘Russia must be destroyed in order to cease to exist, and there is no need to enter into negotiations with it,’ says the head of the Ukrainian Security Council. “They must simply be destroyed so that they cease to exist as a country within the borders where they are. Because today Russia is one of the few countries that has colonies on its territory, that has destroyed a huge number of peoples, languages, cultures, traditions. They are simply barbarians. And when they say we should sit at the same table with these barbarians and say something, I think it would not be dignified at all,’ Oleksiy Danilov told the Kiev Security Forum.

The Kiev area remains in darkness for the second day. According to the mayor of Bucha Anatoliy Fedoruk, in some settlements near Kiev there is no light for the second day in a row due to emergency shutdowns. They may continue throughout the weekend. At the same time, he made an optimistic forecast about DTEK. According to him, the energy company promises to schedule outages in settlements where there is currently no electricity on Monday. This will only happen if Russia does not resort to new bombings.

Serhiy Kovalenko, CEO of YASNO, explained that incidents on electricity grids in Ukraine have become more frequent due to the load. He recommends that devices be switched on for at least half an hour or alternatively.

‘Accidents have increased dramatically. It is not necessary to switch on all electrical appliances at the same time. This leads to accidents in some homes. Therefore, it is recommended to extend the switching on for half an hour. Do this alternately so that the voltage does not rise so abruptly. Because this increases the risk of local accidents,’ Kovalenko said.

From the front they continue. Counting prisoner exchanges. The LNR brought home eight defenders of the republic following a prisoner exchange with Ukraine. LNR Human Rights Commissioner Victoria Serdyukova reported this to LIC. “Following another exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine, eight LNR soldiers have returned home. Almost all of them were severely tortured during their captivity, so they now need serious treatment and rehabilitation and have already been sent to medical institutions,” she said.

On the day of two December, new explosions were reported in Kherson but there was no air alert in the region.

The Russians let it be known that the authorities on Saturday, 3 December will begin the evacuation from the town of Kakhovka, Kherson region, which is located in the artillery bombing zone of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), starting with people with reduced mobility, the administration of the Kakhovka municipality let it be known.

And now a report from the front at 23:59 on 1 December: in the direction of Svatove – Kreminna. The Ukrainians hold their positions in the settlement areas of Kislovka, Stel’makhivka, Raigorodka, Makiivka, Nevskoe.

In the last 24 hours, Ukrainian troops attacked the positions of the Russian Armed Forces in the areas of Kuzemivka, Ploschanka, Chervonopopivka, Zhytlivka and suffered significant casualties of about 100 people. As weather conditions improved, the Ukrainian Armed Forces increased the number of DRGs and UAV crews operating along the entire line of contact, but were intercepted by the Russians in the Serebryansʹkyy forest area. The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces retains the hope of penetrating the positions of the Allied forces in the Svatove direction and consolidating the success of the offensive, but without success, they are suffering significant losses of manpower and equipment on a daily basis.

Bilohorivka. Clashes are still being recorded. No changes recorded in Soledar.

In Bachmut. The Russian Armed Forces are stationed in Kurdyumivka and Andriivka. Fighting is ongoing in the Kleshcheevka area and in Experimental. Ukrainian counter-attacks have been repelled.

In the eastern periphery – no change.

In Marinka, there is fighting in the centre of the city. The pace of progress is low.

Vuhledar direction. In the Pavlivka area – no change. There is still no attack in Vuhledar. In the Novomykhailivka area – no change.

In the Avdiivka area the assault on Vodyane, Pervomais’ke , as well as the battles for the fortified area near Nevel’s’ke continue.

Graziella Giangiulio

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