Russian opponent Navalnaya believes in Putin’s downfall, but doesn’t know how
Russian opponent Yulia Navalnaya, who is organizing an anti-war demonstration in Berlin on Sunday, admitted on Wednesday that she had no immediate “plan” to end Vladimir Putin’s regime, but nevertheless believed in his downfall.
The Russian opposition, exiled due to repression in Russia and weakened by internal conflicts, lost its figurehead in February 2024: the charismatic anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, husband of Yulia Navalnaya, who died in prison under murky circumstances.
“If anyone had a plan, we would surely have adopted it long ago and implemented it,” said 48-year-old Yulia Navalnaya in an interview with Russian opposition TV Dojd. “Everything is changing rapidly and no one knows what we’ll have to adapt to or what we’ll have to deal with tomorrow,” she continued, believing that the focus should be on day-to-day acts of opposition to Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine. “We will absolutely win, we cannot let a murderer and war criminal run the country,” she added.
Seoul confirms North Korean military “taking part in fighting” in Russia
Further confirmation. According to South Korean intelligence, North Korean military personnel are “engaged in combat” in Kursk, Russia.
Ukraine claims responsibility for murder of Russian officer in Russia
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the murder of a Russian officer in Crimea. Shortly before, a statement from the authorities of this annexed Ukrainian peninsula said that a serviceman had been killed Wednesday morning in Sevastopol, Crimea, in a car bomb explosion.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened investigations into the “terrorist act. “The people involved […] are currently being identified”, according to the same source.
Russians step up their bombing raids
Drones also hit the southern town of Beryslav, killing a 52-year-old woman, according to regional authorities.
In all, according to the air force, six missiles and 90 drones targeted the regions of Kiev, Poltava, Soumy, Cherkassy, Zaporijjia, Cherniguiv and Kirovograd on Tuesday night. Only the Zaporizhia region is on the front line. The same source confirmed that two cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 drones had been destroyed.
Kiev targeted at dawn by Russian missile and drone attack
The Ukrainian capital Kiev was targeted at dawn on Wednesday by a combined Russian missile and drone attack, the first in two months.
“Russian armed forces launched a combined missile and drone attack against Kiev. The first time in 73 days”, noted the military administration of this city, which has a pre-war population of three million and is located hundreds of kilometers from the front line. According to this source, Moscow used ballistic and cruise missiles in addition to drones for this operation, which “lasted over two hours” but caused no casualties “thanks to the action of Ukrainian anti-aircraft defence”.
An initial report stated that one person had been injured by falling debris from a projectile shot down over Brovary, a suburb of the capital.
Nato puts North Korea, Iran and China in the same basket
And it’s not just North Korea that’s the problem,” said Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, speaking alongside Antony Blinken. China is helping Russia in its “war effort” against Ukraine, and Iran is supplying it with weapons, paid for by Moscow, “which helps Iran to continue its efforts to destabilize the Middle East and even beyond”, he stressed, calling for an increase in European defense spending.
Washington promises “firm response” to North Korean troop commitment
In Brussels on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised a “firm” response to North Korean involvement alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine. “North Korean forces engaged in battle and, now, literally in combat: this new element demands a firm response, and it will be firm,” he told reporters, alongside Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.
As a reminder, the United States, like Ukraine, has confirmed that North Korean troops are engaged in combat operations in the Russian region of Kursk, a small part of which is occupied by Ukrainian forces. Moscow refuses to comment on this information.
Russian missile attack on Kiev?
The Ukrainian authorities triggered a nationwide air alert on Wednesday, as the country’s presidency said it was facing a Russian missile attack on its capital, Kiev.
Russian President “Putin is launching a missile attack on Kiev,” Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the head of state Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on Telegram.
The Ukrainian Air Force had earlier warned that a missile flying towards Kiev had entered the country’s airspace.
Marco Rubio soon to head US diplomacy
According to the American press, Donald Trump has set his sights on Republican Senator Marco Rubio to be his next Secretary of State. The latter is rather pro-Ukrainian, even if he has denounced the financing of a “standoff” in Ukraine.
Blinken puts pressure on Europeans over Kiev aid
Antony Blinken, whose days as head of US diplomacy are numbered, is meeting Nato and European Union officials in Brussels on Wednesday to speed up aid to Ukraine, potentially threatened by Donald Trump’s return.
Arriving late Tuesday evening for a visit lasting less than 24 hours, the Secretary of State is scheduled to hold talks with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and with his Ukrainian and EU counterparts Andriï Sybiga and Josep Borrell, as well as with Kaja Kallas, who will succeed Josep Borrell in a few weeks’ time.
Welcome to this new Live
Hello everyone. On Wednesday November 13, the editors of 20 Minutes is once again mobilized to bring you all the news on the conflict between Kiev and Moscow.
Since Donald Trump’s victory in the United States on November 5, Volodymyr Zelensky’s supporters have been busy ahead of the Republican’s return to the White House. Indeed, there are many concerns about the continuity of American support for Kiev after January 20, the date of the new president’s inauguration.