WAR IN UKRAINE: December 22, 2022
Concluding his speech, Mr Zelensky presented Congress with a battle flag signed by the defenders of Bakhmut, a frontline city in the east of Ukraine
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 302
“Against all odds and doom and gloom scenarios, Ukraine didn’t fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking…the Russian tyranny has lost control over us” - Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s opening lines to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening.
He went on: "The Russians' tactic is primitive. They burn down and destroy everything they see. They sent convicts to the front lines, to the war. They threw everything against us, similar to the other tyranny, which in the Battle of the Bulge threw everything it had against the free world. "Just like the brave American soldiers who held their lines and fought back Hitler's forces during the Christmas of 1944, brave Ukrainian soldiers are doing the same to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's forces this Christmas," he said. "Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender."
‘It’s an honor to be by your side’: Biden welcomes Zelensky at White House. President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Washington, D.C., on Dec. 21 to meet his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, leaving the country for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two nations - Kyiv Independent.
President Joe Biden vowed to stick by Ukraine "for as long as it takes". Mr Biden pledged a new $2bn (£1.7bn) aid package and promised another $45bn.
The package of security assistance announced by Washington on Wednesday includes a new Patriot missile system. However, Biden wouldn’t commit to the provision of increasingly lethal weaponry, including the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). When asked about the ATACMS, Biden said that NATO is “not looking to go to war with Russia” and that that specific weaponry could shatter NATO unity.
Yet as Zelensky departed Washington it wasn't clear that a route to ending the eight year war was any clearer. Ukraine has a lengthy wishlist not only for the US, but other allies as well - including more air defense systems, winter gear, long-range missiles (Russian cruise missiles have a range of some 2000 kilometres vs Ukraine’s 100 kilometer range), and modern tanks and armored vehicles.
As Ukraine's most important ally, the US has already committed $50bn (£41bn) of humanitarian, financial and security assistance - far more than any other country. Mr Zelensky - wearing his trademark combat-green sweatshirt and boots - expressed hope that Congress would pass an extra $45bn in aid to Ukraine - currently before the US Senate - to "help us to defend our values and independence” - BBC
Republicans - who will take control of the House of Representatives in January - have warned they will not write a "blank cheque" for Ukraine. In fact, Republican support for continued assistance has been eroding. In a survey conducted in November, just over half of Republican voters supported aid to Ukraine - down from 80% in March - BBC
Apparently sensitive to Republican concerns about the high war tab, Zelensky told legislators that “your money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”
Apparently aiming to cool anxieties, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday: “Continuing our support for Ukraine is morally right, but it is not only that. It is also a direct investment in cold, hard, American interests.”
From a wider perspective, Russia can still lash out at Ukraine and it’s neighbours. But it is losing all around its periphery - everyone from Finland to Kazakhstan are looking towards the Ukrainian example of resistance and is making plans to secure own interests. Further afield, too: Japan OM is doubling defence spending because of the Ukraine example. Said one former western diplomat: “Change effects already rippling out globally and there’s no going back.”
As of lunchtime on Thursday, roughly half of Ukraine was under an air raid alert.
Zelensky addressed part of the White House press conference in eloquent English. He also delivered his entire address to the joint session of Congress in near flawless English. As someone who’s covered Zelensky since the time he was a candidate, I can say this represents a new-found confidence on the part of the Ukrainian president. Even more remarkable considering he’s been someone who’s been consumed with the war 24/7.
At the end of the day, his eleventh hour, in person trip to address the joint session of Congress the day after he visited the front lines days - and before the GOP is set to take over the House, which controls the budget - was a master stroke.
Zelensky is satisfied with the results of his visit, feeling bipartisan support — CNN with reference to a source close to the president of Ukraine. At the same time, despite the generally warm reception, some Republicans were not yet ready to commit to continuing financial support for Ukraine, notes Politico. The leader of the minority in the House of Representatives, Steve Scalise, noted that Congress is interested in supporting Ukraine, but under the condition that "the money will be carefully scrutinized - Ukrainska Pravda.
Heavy fighting continued unabated in the east as Ukrainian forces repelled dozens of Russian attacks over the past 24 hours, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military said on December 21 - RFE/RL
The IMF says it has approved a monitoring program for Ukraine that is "designed to help Ukraine maintain stability and catalyze donor financing" as it struggles to meet its financial needs amid Russia's invasion.
Ukraine continues to face a significant electricity shortage following Russia’s Dec. 19 drone attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, Ukraine’s state grid operator Ukrenergo reported. Prior, Serhiy Kovalenko, the CEO of energy supplier Yasno, said that 10-hour-long power outages had become a “new reality” in Kyiv - Kyiv Independent
Notable locations worldwide went dark on Wednesday in solidarity with Ukraine. London’s Wembley Stadium arch, the Colosseum in Rome, the Sydney Opera House, and Toronto’s CN Tower turned the lights out at night as part of the #LightUpUkraine campaign, according to organizers.
Required reading
It’s Costing Peanuts for the US to Defeat Russia
Yet from numerous perspectives, when viewed from a bang-per-buck perspective, US and Western support for Ukraine is an incredibly cost-effective investment.
Altogether, the Biden administration received Congressional approval for $40bn in aid for Ukraine for 2022 and has requested an additional $37.7bn for 2022. More than half of this aid has been earmarked for defense.
These sums pale into insignificance when set against a total US defense budget of $715bn for 2022. The assistance represents 5.6% of total US defense spending. But Russia is a primary adversary of the US, a top tier rival not too far behind China, its number one strategic challenger. In cold, geopolitical terms, this war provides a prime opportunity for the US to erode and degrade Russia’s conventional defense capability, with no boots on the ground and little risk to US lives.
Read the full Center for European Policy Analysis article by Timothy Ash here