December 11, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

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Memorial chairman Yan Rachinsky on behalf of 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner Russian human rights organisation Memorial delivers a speech during the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony at the City Hall in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 2022.
Russian Nobel Peace laureate slams Putin's 'insane and criminal war'
02:26 - Source: Reuters

What we covered here

  • Russian drone strikes left the port city Odesa in the dark this weekend, Ukraine said. About 300,000 people were still without power Sunday, down from 1.5 million.
  • Meanwhile, Kyiv’s forces launched attacks on occupied regions of Ukraine. Missiles hit Melitopol in the south and Donetsk in the east, local officials said.
  • Across Ukraine, crews are scrambling to restore energy capabilities faster than Moscow’s troops can knock them out. It’s a dire fight as a long winter sets in.
  • WNBA star Brittney Griner is back on US soil after being released from a Russian jail in a prisoner swap for convicted arms dealer?Viktor Bout.
18 Posts

LGBTQ Russians fear for the future as Moscow toughens anti-gay law

Young mothers Yana and Yaroslava don’t want to leave Russia with their 6-year-old son. But they fear a harsh?new anti-gay law?passed by Russian lawmakers will leave them little choice.

Russia’s upper house of parliament gave its final approval in late November to a new legislative package that toughens an existing law on so-called?“LGBTQ propaganda,”?and it was signed into law Monday by President Vladimir Putin. The added restrictions on “propaganda” seen as promoting “non-traditional sexual relations and/or preferences” carry heavy penalties – a move activists say will put LGBTQ communities under heightened scrutiny and surveillance.

As the Kremlin prepared to finalize the expansion of the 2013 discriminatory?anti-gay law, members of the LGBTQ community in Russia told CNN they feared the uncertain future ahead.

“We are the most vulnerable category within LGBT. We have a child, and they (Russian authorities) can put pressure on us,” Yaroslava said.

Yana and Yaroslava, both self-employed marketing workers, are raising their child in Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg. Both lesbians, they have asked not to disclose their last names for security reasons.

Read this full report here.

As Brittney Griner returns to US, one of the "Citgo 6" says reintegration after captivity can be difficult

Brittney Griner exits a plane after landing at the in San Antonio on Friday.

As freed WNBA star Brittney Griner visits a?Texas military medical facility?following nearly 10 months of imprisonment in Russia, Jorge Toledo – one of the “Citgo 6” – spoke to CNN Saturday about how reintegration into society can take time and effort.

Toledo was released in October as part of a prisoner swap after being detained while on a?2017 business trip to Venezuela?with other oil and gas executives from the Citgo Corporation.

Two months after his release, Toledo described the challenges he has faced with returning to regular daily life – hurdles he didn’t think about when he was first freed – and the advice he has for Griner.

Having spent five years in captivity, Toledo has had to rebuild relationships with family members, including grandchildren who were only babies when he was detained.

Toledo also experienced trouble sleeping and other health issues after returning to the US, and saw minor, everyday tasks like driving become sources of anxiety.

His advice for Griner? “Take your time.”

Read more about this here.

Russian shelling damaged several communities in southern Ukraine overnight, official says

Russia shelled Ukraine’s?Dnipropetrovsk?region and surrounding territories with rockets and heavy artillery overnight,?a local Ukrainian official said.

There were no casualties, according to the head of the region’s military administration, Valentyn Reznichenko. He shared the update on Telegram Sunday.

The communities of Nikopol, Chervonohryhorivka and Marhanets were also hit,?Reznichenko said, as Moscow’s forces fired more than 50 shells.

The bombardment targeted Nikopol six times during the night, damaging a?dozen private houses and outbuildings, plus administrative and office buildings, the Ukrainian official said.

Nikopol sits across the Dnipro River from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.?

In Chervonohryhorivka, the shelling damaged gas pipelines and power lines, along with 15 houses, several outbuildings and cars.

Three villages in the area were left without electricity and water. Reznichenko said emergency crews have already started repair work.

Diplomat says Brittney Griner immediately formed a personal connection with the crew that brought her home

Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens speaks to CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday.

The top US hostage affairs official on Sunday reflected on conducting the prisoner swap that led to Brittney Griner’s release, saying the WNBA star immediately thanked the crew returning her to the United States.

“When she finally got on to the US plane, I said, ‘Brittney, you must have been through a lot over the last 10 months. Here’s your seat. Please feel free to decompress. We’ll give you your space,’” Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

Carstens, who led the mission to the UAE, provided CNN with new details about Griner’s trip home. Griner, who he described as “an intelligent, passionate, compassionate, humble, interesting person, a patriotic person — but above all, authentic,” seemed healthy and full of energy during the trip.

She was given a sense, he said, that she would be going home that day, and it felt real the moment he was able to board the other plane and tell her that “on behalf of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and Secretary of State Tony Blinken, I’m here to take you home.”

“At that point, we have to go through a little more of the choreography to get her on the plane, it usually takes about three minutes,” Carstens said.

While he said Griner talked about her ordeal during the trip, he declined to elaborate on the details.

Read more about this here.

Ukrainian official claims that an explosion rocked mercenary group's headquarters in Luhansk region

An explosion rocked the Wagner mercenary group’s headquarters in the eastern Luhansk region of Ukraine on Saturday, according to a regional official.

“They had a ‘pop’ (explosion), where the headquarters of Wagner were. And photos have already appeared online, and they don’t even hide that there are huge losses there,” Serhiy Hayday, head of the region’s military administration, said in an interview with Ukrainian media Sunday.

Hayday said the headquarters was established at a building in the Russian-occupied city of Kadiivka. The city is located in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Reports out of Russia: The Russian state news agency TASS reported that an explosion occurred on Saturday in a “private hotel” building in Kadiivka, but did not specify Wagner’s presence there.

CNN has not independently verified whether Wagner operated at the hotel.

“The hotel building was destroyed in the city of Stakhanov in the LPR due to the strike by the Armed Forces of Ukraine using HIMAR (rocket launchers), the blow shook the central part of the city,” TASS reported Saturday.

“The strike was at the private hotel, that is in the area of ??the central market. The hotel wasn’t operating at the moment,” TASS’ report continued. “Rescuers are already working on the scene, they are clearing the rubble.”

What is the Wagner Group?

The Wagner Group is a mercenary firm that has been heavily involved in the fighting in Ukraine. The group is often described as?President Vladimir Putin’s off-the-books troops. It has expanded its footprint globally since its creation in 2014. The group has been accused of war crimes in Africa, Syria and Ukraine.

The group was founded by a Russian oligarch,?Yevgeny Prigozhin, which he admitted earlier this year. Prigozhin is so close to the Kremlin that he is known as?Putin’s “chef.”

CNN’s Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.

Ukrainian prime minister says 40% of the country's high-voltage network facilities are damaged

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Facebook that after eight waves of missile attacks on the country, all thermal and hydroelectric power stations have been damaged to some degree.

Shmyhal also said that 40% of all high-voltage network facilities have been damaged “to varying degrees.”

National security official: US continues to work on securing Paul Whelan's release

Paul Whelan stands inside a defendants' cage during a hearing at a court in Moscow on January 22, 2019.

John Kirby, a National Security Council spokesperson, said Sunday that the US is working to release American Paul Whelan from Russia.

Kirby said the deal that secured WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release left the administration “more informed” on the Russians’ view of Paul’s case.

Remember: Russian authorities allege the former Marine was involved in an intelligence operation in Moscow. In 2020, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in a trial US officials denounced as unfair.

Here’s what Kirby said on “ABC This Week”:

Kirby also reiterated how the negotiations evolved this summer, adding that?it was not until the last week when the Griner deal was finalized that they lost hope of securing the release of both Griner and Whelan together.

As negotiations progressed through summer and into the fall, Kirby said it was clear “that they were treating Paul very separately, very distinctly because of these sham espionage charges they levied against them.”

Kirby acknowledged bipartisan criticism of the deal that secured Griner’s release, but pushed back.?

“I understand the criticism. They weren’t in the room. They weren’t on the phone. They weren’t watching the incredible effort and determination … to try to get both Paul and (Griner) out together,” he said. “I mean, in a negotiation you do what you can, you do as much as you can. You push and you push and you push, and we did. And this deal we got last week — that was the deal that was possible.”

Situation in Odesa is "controlled, although not easy" amid power outage, mayor says

A power outage is seen in Odesa on Saturday.

Power and water supplies are gradually being restored around the key port of Odesa?after the region was hit by drone strikes, Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said in a statement?on Telegram.

The number of people without power in the region decreased from 1.5 million on Saturday to 300,000 on Sunday.

“The situation is quite controlled, although not easy,” he said.

Trukhanov said his administration is re-launching pumping stations and delivering water by truck to zones where shortages continue. Regarding power supply and heating, the official said 43 out of 140 boiler houses are still not working.?

The head of Odesa regional state administration, Maksym Marchenko, said in a statement that “power is gradually returning to Odesa”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that the damage was done by Iranian-made drones, which Russia launched overnight Friday into Saturday.

Why Odesa’s stability is so important: The port of Odesa is Ukraine’s key to exporting vital food products, including through its “Grain from Ukraine” initiative, which is aimed at addressing the global hunger crisis.

Macron and Zelensky speak ahead of international aid conferences?

French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke with his counterpart in Kyiv Sunday to prepare two conferences in support of Ukraine this week in Paris.?

This is the 43rd meeting or call between the two men since Dec. 2021, according to the Elysee Presidential Palace.?

Nearly 70 state and international NGO actors are expected to attend the morning conference on support for Ukraine in the winter, with some 500 French companies due to attend the afternoon conference on reconstruction, per the Elysee Palace.

Several agreements on critical infrastructure are also expected to be signed.

Ukraine’s prime minister and first lady are expected to attend the conferences in Paris Tuesday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky to give a virtual address.?

Eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut is "holding on" as fighting rages all around it, military says

Ukrainian service members rest in their shelter in?Bakhmut on Friday.

Ukraine’s forces are clinging to the eastern town of Bakhmut as fighting rages all around it, the military said.?

Speaking about Russian troops, the Ukrainian military said: “You have not entered anywhere, you will not enter anywhere. You will never take Bakhmut.”?

The military added: “No matter what they say, no matter what they write, Bakhmut was, is and will be Ukraine.”?

Some context: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that the situation?is very difficult for his troops?along the frontline in the country’s Donbas region.

Bakhmut is located in Donetsk, which is part of the Donbas and was among the four territories of Ukraine annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in violation of international law.

Multiple explosions reported around Crimea Saturday evening

Several blasts shook the Crimean city of Simferopol around 9 p.m. local time Saturday, according to social media video and local reports.

There were also reports of explosions in Sevastopol, the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet; at a Russian military barracks in Sovietske; and in the settlements of Hvardiiske, Dzhankoi and Nyzhniohirskyi.

The blasts come after Moscow ramped up its?missile assaults?on Ukraine last week, and around the same time, Ukraine launched attacks on occupied Melitopol and Donetsk, which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

The exact circumstances surrounding the explosions are unclear:

Sergey Aksenov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea, indicated the region had activated its air defenses but didn’t specifically outline details of a potential attack.

“The air defense system worked over Simferopol,” he wrote on Telegram. “All services are working as usual.”

The unofficial Crimean media portal Krymskyi Veter said the explosion at a Russian military barracks in Sovietske had set the building on fire, killing some people and leaving others wounded.

A pro-Russian Crimean channel claimed the fire at the barracks had been caused by “careless handling of fire.”

“Two people died. Now all the servicemen, about two hundred people, are accommodated in another premises,” it said.

And Mikhail Razvozhaev, governor of Sevastopol, said the explosions in his area were due to firing exercises.

Ukrainian officials have made no comment about the reported?Crimea?explosions. CNN is unable to verify what caused the blasts, nor the extent of damage and casualties.

Zelensky: 1.5M without power after Russian drones strike key port city of Odesa

More than 1.5 million people in the region surrounding Odesa, a key Ukrainian port city, are without power following a strike by Russian drones early Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“In total, Russian terrorists used 15 (Iranian-made) Shahed drones against Odesa,” Zelensky said during his daily address that evening. “Only critical infrastructure is connected, and to the extent where it is possible to supply electricity.”

Zelensky added that “Ukrainian sky defenders managed to shoot down 10 drones out of 15.”?

The Ukrainian president called the drone hits “critical” and suggested it will take a few days to restore the electricity supply in the region.

“In general, both emergency and stabilization power outages continue in various regions,” Zelensky said. “The power system is now, to put it mildly, very far from a normal state.”

Why Odesa’s stability is so important: The port of Odesa is Ukraine’s key to exporting vital food products, including through its “Grain from Ukraine” initiative, which is aimed at addressing the global hunger crisis.

A long winter sets in: With strikes on energy infrastructure, Russia is repeatedly?casting Ukrainian cities into the dark?and cold as a long winter sets in.

The result is a?grinding battle of attrition: Barrages of Russian missiles fly across Ukraine, and Ukrainian power engineers work for days in freezing temperatures to restore power.

Ukraine launches attacks on self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic: Russia state media

Ukraine launched a missile attack on the?self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) early Sunday morning, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Ukraine launched 20 Grad missiles around 5:54 a.m. local time Sunday, said Alexei Kulemzin, head of the Russian-backed city administration. The strikes were made in the direction of the?Voroshilovsky and Kalininsky districts.?

Shells hit several apartment buildings and landed near the opera, ballet theater and the Kalinin Hospital, RIA reported, adding that one strike left an apartment building ablaze.

Kulemzin said Ukraine also shelled the city’s?Kyivskyi?district late Saturday night, around 11 p.m. local time.?

The Ukrainian military has not yet confirmed or commented on the attack, and CNN cannot independently verify the reports.

Some background: Donetsk is a region in eastern Ukraine that?has been held by Russian-backed separatists?since?2014.

During that time, the region has been operated under the name Donetsk People’s Republic. Russia recognizes the DPR as a sovereign state, and Donetsk was among the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia in violation of international law.

Russia is the only country that considers the DPR independent. The international community does not recognize the region and its institutions, and considers the territory to be part of Ukraine. Independent watchdog groups have long accused the separatists of a dismal human rights track record and ill treatment of prisoners.

Ukraine launches missile attack on Russian-occupied Melitopol, local officials say

Ukraine launched a missile attack on the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol Saturday, according to officials on both sides.

Melitopol’s Moscow-installed administrators said four missiles struck the city, killing two people and wounding 10.

Yevgeny Balitsky, Russia’s acting governor of Zaporizhzhia, said two more missiles were shot down.

A “recreation center, where people, civilians, and (military) base personnel were having dinner on Saturday night, was completely destroyed,” Balitsky said.

The strikes were also acknowledged by Ivan Fedorov, Ukraine’s former administrator of Melitopol city, who said Russian military bases were hit.

Fedorov said the explosions hit the building of the Melitopol Christian Church, “which the occupiers seized several months ago and turned into their hideout.”

Last month, the Ukrainian official said the Russian military has turned Melitopol into “one giant military base.”

“The Russian military is settling in local houses they seized, schools and kindergartens. Military equipment is stationed in residential areas,” he said at the time.

Fedorov, who is not in Melitopol, also reported dead and wounded among the Russian forces in the city. He did not provide a specific number.

Melitopol, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, has been under Russian occupation since early March.

Viktor Bout says he "wholeheartedly" supports Ukraine war and would volunteer to fight for Russia

Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout looks out from inside of a detention center on May 19, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Recently freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout said Saturday he “wholeheartedly” supports Russia’s war in Ukraine and that he’d volunteer to fight for Russia.

He said if he had the opportunity and the necessary skills, he would “certainly go as a volunteer” in what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. ?

Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” by his accusers, was released on Thursday from US detention in a prisoner swap for US basketball star Brittney Griner.??

Bout made these remarks in a video interview with Kremlin-controlled TV network RT. He was interviewed by Maria Butina, a Russian gun rights enthusiast-turned TV personality who now works for the network.?Butina, who was convicted of conspiring to act as an agent for a foreign state in the United States,?was deported to Russia?in October 2019 after serving more than 15 months behind bars in Florida.

When asked if he had a portrait of President Vladimir Putin in his prison cell, Bout said: “Yes, always. Why not? I’m proud that I’m Russian and that our president is Putin.”

Some background on Bout: The former Soviet military officer was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States on charges of conspiring to kill Americans, acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and provide material support to a terrorist organization. Bout has maintained he is innocent.?

Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate blasts Putin's "insane and criminal" invasion of Ukraine

Natalia Pinchuk — on behalf of her husband Nobel Peace Prize 2022 winner and jailed Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski — delivers a speech during the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on Friday.

Human rights groups from Russia and Ukraine – Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties – have officially been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022, along with the jailed Belarusian advocate Ales Bialiatski, at a ceremony in Oslo on Saturday.??

Bialiatski’s wife received his award on his behalf.?The three winners will share the prize money of 10,000,000 Swedish krona ($900,000).?

“They have for many years promoted the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement in October when the winners were announced.??

Russian laureate blasts Moscow’s war: Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Yan Rachinsky blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “insane and criminal” war on Ukraine in his acceptance speech.

Rachinsky,?from Russia’s human rights organization Memorial, claimed resistance to Russia is known as “fascism” under Putin, adding this has become “the ideological justification for the insane and criminal war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Memorial, one of Russia’s most well-known and respected human rights groups, worked to expose the abuses and atrocities of the Stalinist era for more than three decades before it was ordered to close by the country’s Supreme Court late last year.?

Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk on Saturday called for an international tribunal to bring Putin and Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko to justice over “war crimes.”

The Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine’s Matviichuk said this would be a way to “ensure justice for those affected by the war.”?

In her acceptance speech, Matviichuk warned war criminals should not only be convicted after the fall of authoritarian regimes, adding that “justice cannot wait.”?

Most of southern Ukrainian city without power following Russian shelling, utility says

Most of the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and parts of the Odesa region are without power Saturday following Russian shelling of energy infrastructure facilities, according to one of Ukraine’s major electricity providers, DTEK.?

“Emergency shutdowns also occur in populated areas of the region,” the provider continued. “Currently, the situation in the region remains difficult.”?

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s President’s Office, took to telegram Saturday to comment on the situation in Odesa. He also confirmed the city is currently without power, and that electricity has only been restored at some critical facilities such as hospitals.

More background: What Russia?cannot win?on the battlefield, it is seeking to win by casting Ukrainian cities into the dark and cold as a long winter sets in.

The result is a?grinding battle of attrition: Barrages of Russian missiles fly across Ukraine, and Ukrainian power engineers work for days in freezing temperatures to restore power.

Monday saw the largest wave of missile attacks since Nov. 23. Officials report smaller rounds of shelling near-daily in regions across the country.

CNN’s Tim Lister,?Olga Voitovych?and?Victoria Butenko contributed to this report.

GO DEEPER

After release from Russian custody, focus is on providing Brittney Griner and her family additional support, officials say
Freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout says he ‘wholeheartedly’ supports Ukraine war and would volunteer if he could

GO DEEPER

After release from Russian custody, focus is on providing Brittney Griner and her family additional support, officials say
Freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout says he ‘wholeheartedly’ supports Ukraine war and would volunteer if he could