Ukraine Orders Withdrawal From Severodonetsk to Avoid Encirclement
Wall Street JournalDec 27, 2021
Day 122 Roundup: Severodonetsk Under Russian Control, Dozens of Missiles Strike Ukraine's North-West
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Image copyright: Reuters [via Al Jazeera]
The Facts
At roughly 4 am local time on Sat., dozens of Russian missiles struck military facilities across north-western Ukraine, local officials said. Vitaliy Bunechko, governor of the Zhytomyr region - west of Kyiv - said 30 missiles were fired into the region, damaging military infrastructure and killing one Ukrainian serviceman. He later added that 10 missiles were shot down by the region's air defenses.
Six missiles were also fired into the region of Lviv, the head of the region's military administration Maksym Kozytskyi said. He said two were shot down, but that four hit the Yavoriv military base, injuring four people – one of whom is in critical condition. The region of Chernihiv, east of Kyiv, was also struck by Russian missiles.
The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after a fraudulent election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
Pro-Russia narrative
NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.
