Central Kyiv is rocked by several explosions: ‘Seven’ people wounded after Russian missiles rain down on capital – just as Zelensky warned Biden it would be ‘insane’ to abandon Ukraine
Kyiv was rocked by several explosions overnight as Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian capital.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said seven people were injured and buildings were damaged by debris from destroyed missiles in the Dnieper district of Kyiv, following earlier reports of a Russian air attack on the city.
Mr Klitschko said on the Telegram app that residents of one building were being evacuated and emergency services were working to put out several fires sparked by falling missile debris.
This happens after President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that cutting off US military aid to Ukraine would be a “Christmas gift” to Russia, as Vladimir Zelensky’s latest attempt to provide more aid faced stiff Republican opposition.
As Moscow announced new successes on the battlefield and predicted that any new aid to Kyiv would be a “fiasco,” Zelensky told Biden during their meeting at the White House that “Ukraine can win.”
Kyiv was rocked by several explosions overnight as Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian capital
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that seven people were injured and buildings were damaged.
Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky hold a joint news conference in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, in Washington, DC.
Zelensky, who wore a black sweater with a small Ukrainian trident and olive green military trousers, shook hands with the 81-year-old US leader as they sat in front of a roaring fire in the Oval Office.
“We will stand by your side,” Biden told Zelensky, even as the Ukrainian leader’s desperate calls for Congress to provide $60 billion in new aid to Kyiv fell on deaf ears.
“Congress needs to pass additional funding for Ukraine … before they give (Russian President Vladimir) Putin the greatest Christmas gift they can give him,” Biden added.
But Zelensky’s attempt to keep Ukraine’s main backer close to his chest after White House warnings that Kyiv’s funding would dry up by the end of the year was dashed by the reality of bitter domestic political divisions in the United States.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, the person responsible for any deal, said his party would not approve Biden’s request for more aid to Kyiv unless Democrats met their demands on immigration and the US-Mexico border.
“The Biden administration appears to be asking for billions of additional dollars without proper oversight, without a clear strategy for winning, and without any of the answers that I think the American people should be given,” Johnson told reporters after meeting with Zelensky.
The Kremlin has scoffed at the effect of US support, echoing the arguments of some senior Republicans who say a continued flow of arms into Ukraine would be futile after Kyiv’s summer counter-offensive stalled.
“It is important for everyone to understand: tens of billions of dollars pumped into Ukraine have not helped it achieve success on the battlefield,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
“The tens of billions of dollars that he wants to pump into Ukraine are also doomed to the same fiasco.”
Residents of one house were evacuated while emergency services worked to put out several fires caused by falling rocket debris.
Biden shakes hands with Zelensky during their meeting in the Oval Office
Biden and Zelensky enter the room to hold a joint news conference in the Indian Talks Hall.
Russia said it was forging ahead as Ukraine’s freezing winter deepens and Moscow’s air attacks on Ukrainian cities intensify.
“Our units have made significant progress northeast of Novopokrovka,” said Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-appointed head of the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye region.
Ukraine said Russia had launched a “massive offensive” of armored vehicles on another part of the front near Avdeevka in the east.
Ukraine’s main mobile operator said its operations were paralyzed by a “powerful hacker attack”, which was a blow to civilians behind the front lines.
The US has said that Russia is in fact paying a very high price for little gain, with some 315,000 Russian troops killed or wounded in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.
Russian forces also lost about 2,200 of the 3,500 tanks they had before the conflict, according to a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment provided to Congress.
The White House said more than 13,000 people have been killed and wounded in eastern Russia since October alone.
But “Russia appears to believe that a military stalemate over the winter will weaken Western support for Ukraine and ultimately give Russia an advantage despite Russian losses,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
As the United States considers its future policy towards Ukraine, Kyiv’s main European ally Poland has called for global support.
Polish Prime Minister-designate Donald Tusk called for “full mobilization by the free world and the West to support Ukraine in this war.”
That message is likely to be echoed loudly by Biden in the White House.
Republican senators last week blocked Biden’s request for $106 billion in emergency aid, primarily for Ukraine and Israel.
Negotiations continue behind the scenes on a deal that would make concessions to Republican demands for a crackdown on illegal immigration in exchange for a Ukraine aid package.