WAR IN UKRAINE: November 24, 2022
A victim of Russia’s missile attack on Kyiv yesterday. Credit: Emergency Service of Ukraine
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 274
President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of "crimes against humanity" after a new missile barrage caused blackouts across Ukraine. Kyiv's regional administration has claimed that at least three people were killed and six others injured after a two-story building was struck by rockets - RFE/RL
On Wednesday, 51 cruise missiles were reportedly shot down by Ukrainian air defence. Seventy cruise missiles were said to have been fired by Russian forces.
Because of the problems with the Ukrainian energy grid, large parts of neighboring Moldova were plunged into darkness. I personally witnessed towns and villages more than an hour drive from the Ukrainian border in darkness. In response, the foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador. My quick analysis: if this isn’t seen as proof of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine negatively impacting neighboring countries, I don’t know what is. Not unlike the rocket that fell into Poland this is evidence of the war spilling over into other states.
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "weaponising winter" to inflict immense suffering. "Having struggled on the battlefield, Moscow is now adopting a cowardly and inhumane strategy that punishes Ukrainian men, women and children," she said.
Due to Russian rocket attacks Wednesday, three plants still under Ukrainian control were disconnected from the grid and the Zaporizhzhia plant - Europe's largest - was forced again to rely on diesel generators to power its cooling systems and key safety equipment. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has voiced great concern about the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant, which has suffered damage from repeated shelling.
Pope Francis on Wednesday compared the war in Ukraine to the “terrible Holodomor genocide” of the 1930s, when the policies of the Soviet dictator, Josef Stalin, caused a devastating famine in Ukraine. The pontiff’s comparison of Moscow’s attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine to Stalin’s decision to let millions in Ukraine starve represents one of his strongest condemnations yet of the Russian invasion. “Let us pray for peace in the world, and for an end to all conflicts, with a special thought for the terrible suffering of the dear and martyred people of Ukraine,” Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s square. “And let us think of war-torn Ukraine” - NYT
The Pope’s harsh words against Moscow marks a significant turning point in the Vatican response to the war, which has been characterized as waffling and ill planned. Last Easter, the Vatican was promoting unification, which irked many Ukrainians.