Russian invasionRussian reactions

Russian invasionRussian reactions  

 

Putin: "Extremely tough" situation in the annexed areas  

 

The situation in the four Ukrainian territories that Russia claims are Russian is "extremely difficult," says Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

 

- The situation in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya is extremely difficult. Those who live there, the Russian residents, rely on you and your protection, he says in a speech to the Russian security service.  

 

Putin also said that he decided on increased surveillance of Russian society and the Russian borders in order to "quickly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs". 

  

The photo released by the Russian Ministry of Defense of Sergei Shoigu. AP  

 

Russian invasionRussian reactions  

Shojgu said he was at the front - was eight miles away  

 

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed last week that he visited the Russian forces' front line in Ukraine - but he was in fact 80 kilometers away in Russian-occupied Crimea. That's what the radio channel Radio Free Europe writes.  

 

It was on December 18 that Shojgu said he spoke with forces about the current situation at the front line. Along with the statement, a short video was published that shows him sitting in a military helicopter, Kyiv Independent writes.  

 

Volodymyr Zelenskyj/Ukrainian soldiers in Bachmut.  

 

Russian invasionUkraine's response Zelensky at the front in Bakhmut - meets soldiers  

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited the front line at Bakhmut, his staff said, according to Reuters.  

 

Among other things, the president met military representatives at the front and handed out awards to the soldiers.  

 

Bachmut is described as the epicenter of the war, and some of the toughest battles in eastern Ukraine have taken place there in recent weeks.  

 

  

A woman is taken into care after a Russian attack. Evgeniy Maloletka / AP  

 

Russian invasionVictims of war  

WHO: Every fourth Ukrainian is at risk of mental health problems  

 

Ten million Ukrainians, about a quarter of the country's population, may be diagnosed with mental health problems as a direct result of Russia's invasion. This is stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) according to Reuters. 

 

- It's about everything from anxiety and stress-related ailments to more serious psychological problems, says Jarno Habicht, who is the organization's representative in Ukraine.  

 

He also fears that lung diseases will spread as temperatures in Ukraine drop at the same time as Russia continues to attack infrastructure that leaves many homes without heat, electricity and water.  

 

The bust depicting Alexander Pushkin is removed. AP 

 

Russian invasionUkraine's response 

Ukraine clears Dostoyevsky - brings in Warhol instead  

 

Ukraine is speeding up work to remove the remnants of Russian and Soviet influence from public places, AP writes. Now it is about an "Auryssification" which aims to both punish Russia and lift the Ukrainian identity and pay tribute to prominent Ukrainians.  

 

In Dnipro, a bust of the Russian national poet Aleksandr Pushkin was taken down. A small street in northern Kyiv that bears Fyodor Dostoevsky's name is now to be renamed after the pop artist Andy Warhol, who had roots in Ukraine's neighboring Slovakia. 

 

- To rename these streets is to wipe out the propaganda that the Soviet Union forced on Ukraine, says Volodymyr Prokopiv, deputy chairman of the Kyiv City Council.  

 

Matilde Kimer/DR's building. Private/TT  

 

The Russian invasion. The outside world's response  

Danish journalist deprived of Ukrainian accreditation  

 

Danmarks Radio's Russia correspondent Matilde Kimer is stripped of her press accreditation in Ukraine as the country accuses her of having spread "propaganda for the enemy", according to the Danish newspaper Journalisten.  

 

The notice means that she is no longer allowed to work in Ukraine. Kimer herself adamantly denies the allegations and wonders if Ukraine has even heard her piece.  

 

- I have a strange feeling of having been betrayed, she says.  

 

In August, she was denied entry to Russia citing "security and defense reasons" and is not allowed to return to the country f