► Putin threatens to hit kyiv with “Oreshnik”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, November 28, that he did not rule out ordering a strike against the Ukrainian capital kyiv with its experimental hypersonic intermediate-range Orechnik missile, describing it as a terribly destructive weapon.
“We do not exclude the use of Orechnik against military targets, military-industrial installations or decision-making centers, including in kyiv”he said during a press conference broadcast on Russian television on the sidelines of a visit to Kazakhstan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his allies to oppose a “firm response” au ” blackmail “ by Vladimir Putin.
The threat of Vladimir Putin “testifies to his weakness” and NATO and Ukraine must stand up to the Russian leader, responded Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
► Ukraine: 50 billion euros budget for defense and security
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the 2025 budget law, of which just over 50 billion euros, or 60% of spending, will be devoted to defense and security to face the Russian invasion.
“The priority of the budget is to protect our country. It includes the financing of security and defense forces, the purchase and production of weapons, drones and equipment.Prime Minister Denys Chmygal said on Telegram, announcing the news.
► Berlin proposes the deployment of Patriot in Poland
The German government has proposed deploying Patriot air defense units in Poland to protect a logistics hub there “of paramount importance for the delivery of equipment to Ukraine”.
The German Ministry of Defense indicated in a press release that it had proposed to NATO to send this equipment to Poland. “at the beginning of the year” with the aim of protecting “the supply of vehicles, weapons and ammunition that Ukraine urgently needs to defend itself”.
► Russian strikes in response to American ATACMS missile strikes
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday’s massive strikes against Ukraine were his response to US ATACMS missile launches against Russian territory, despite his warning and threat of military escalation addressed to the West.
He claimed a massive strike with 90 missiles, 100 drones, ensuring that 17 targets had been hit. “This is a response to the continued attacks on our territory using ATACMS missiles”he added from Astana in Kazakhstan.
► Zelensky accuses Moscow of dropping “cluster bombs”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of hitting his energy infrastructure with cluster bombs, effectively undermining those sites and complicating repairs, an escalation “contemptible”.
“These cluster munitions make it significantly more difficult for our rescuers and electrical engineers to eliminate the consequences of the strikes, and this is a completely despicable escalation of Russian terrorist tactics.”the Ukrainian president stressed on social networks, insisting that his country needs “air defense systems now”.
► Ukraine says it intercepted 79 missiles and 35 Russian drones overnight
The Ukrainian air force said it intercepted 79 missiles and 35 Russian explosive drones overnight during a new massive air attack by Moscow’s army, which left at least a million Ukrainians without electricity.
In total, Russia fired 91 missiles and 97 drone attacks aimed at “Energy infrastructure of Ukraine”the Air Force said in a statement published on Telegram.
► Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians without electricity
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were without power in western Ukraine, hundreds of kilometers from the front, after a new massive air attack by Russia against the country’s energy infrastructure.
Rivne regional authorities said 280,000 people were “without electricity” and experienced running water outages. In the neighboring Volyn region, 215,000 residents are plunged into darkness, according to local authorities.
► “Massive attack” against energy infrastructure in Ukraine
Ukraine reported early on “massive attack” against the country’s energy infrastructure and said it had to carry out emergency power cuts, particularly in kyiv when temperatures were close to 0°C.
“Once again, the energy sector is under massive attack from the enemy”the energy ministry said on Facebook. Emergency power cuts were implemented in particular in kyiv, Odessa and Dnipro, said the operator DTEK.
► Air alert throughout Ukraine
The Ukrainian Air Force has issued a nationwide air alert, reporting missile strikes targeting several regions.
“Air raid alert declared across Ukraine due to missile threat”announced this source on Telegram, stressing that missiles were targeting the regions of Odessa, Kherson and Mykolaiv in particular.
► Towards a reduction in the age of military mobilization in Ukraine?
The administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden on Wednesday evening called on Ukraine to raise the minimum age for military mobilization to 18 years instead of the current 25 years to compensate for the lack of soldiers in the face of the advance of Russian forces on the land.
This call comes a few weeks before the next American president, Donald Trump, takes office, who could adopt a new approach and push kyiv to negotiate with Moscow while the United States has until now massively supported Ukraine by providing it with weapons.
