THE UKRAINIAN CONNECTION
Compiled by Robert Strybel, Warsaw Correspondent
Kremlin gets even by unleashing mega-assault across Ukraine Although Russia was slow in reacting to Kyiv’s incursion it the Kursk region, it finally responded with some of the deadliest missile, drone and artillery attacks of the war. Critical infrastructure including power stations and heating plants were targeted along with residential buildings, schools, medical facilities and other civilian sites. With the prospect of icy winds soon sweeping in across the steppes, Ukraine could be in for the harshest winter of the war. Russia’s waves of air attacks included the western Lviv region which had largely been spared so far. Was Putin’s brutal retaliation also intended to soften Kyiv up to his peace offer?
Ukrainian soldier murdered in revenge for Kursk? An inquiry has been launched by Ukrainian prosecutors into an alleged, macabre Russian execution of a Ukrainian soldier found dead with a sword protruding from his chest. The medieval-style sword was inscribed in Cyrillic with the words “Za Kursk” (for Kursk)” in an apparent act of revenge for Kyiv’s recent incursion into the Russian border region. A photo circulating on social media showed the soldier lying on his back on a rubble-strewn road.
Putin ready for peace talks with Ukraine (but there’s a catch!) Russian dictator Putin has for some time mentioned a ceasefire, but this time he said his government was ready to negotiate with Kyiv. Previously he had charged that Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region had made such talks impossible. He pointed out that he was not referring to some ceasefire or truce but actual negotiations. “China, Brazil or India could act as intermediaries in Ukraine peace talks, and Turkey could host preliminary talks,” Putin added. “If there is a desire on Ukraine’s part to carry on with negotiations, I can do that!” The curve ball came when he dredged up his oft-mentioned precondition: “Ukraine must withdraw its troops from the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia.” That prerequisite has been utterly rejected by Kyiv.
Russia’s loses 623,000 casualties, extensive hardware – Ukraine military Since Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, nearly 623,000 Russians have been killed or wounded in the conflict. The Russians have also lost 8,631 tanks, 6,878 armored combat vehicles and 17,745 artillery systems during their military campaign. The Ukrainians periodically update the Kremlin’s loses but rarely announce their own. The Russian side does the same.
Is this year’s second prisoner swap laying groundwork for talks? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a Russo-Ukrainian prisoner exchange with each side releasing 103 POWs or other detainees. A video showed footage of Ukrainian soldiers draped in their national blue & yellow flags singing the national anthem and their families eager to greet them. They included Ukrainian servicemen captured in the early days of the war who had been kept in an information vacuum and were starved for the latest news. Among them were over two dozen fiercely anti-Russian defenders of the Azovstal steelworks whom the Kremlin had referred to as “Nazis.” Some observers feel the swap may signal behind-the-scenes preparations for peace talks.
