Day: December 31, 2024

The delayed decisions by Western leaders regarding military aid to Ukraine and the lifting of restrictions on long-range strikes on Russian territory allowed the aggressor country to recover from its problems in 2022-2023. This enabled the Kremlin to restructure its army for further waging war, states Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak.

According to Podolyak, if these decisions had been made promptly by Ukraine’s partner countries and logistically implemented, the situation on the front line and in Russia would have been different.

He reminded that by the end of 2022 and throughout 2023, it was clear how frightened Russian President Vladimir Putin was, where he was, and how he practically avoided participation in any meetings – he disappeared. Russia was not effectively fighting on the front lines and did not understand what needed to be done.

Podolyak stated that it became clear that the Russian army was not prepared for large-scale, modern wars. At the beginning of 2023, the Russian army, like the entire military-political leadership of the country, appeared disoriented.

However, the pause and delays in making necessary decisions by Ukraine’s allies gave the Russian forces time and opportunity to recover, said the advisor to the head of the President’s Office.

Podolyak emphasized that Russia understands its inability to fight with high-quality weapons and high-tech solutions, relying instead on old Soviet methods.

“And that means using resources and manpower. Unfortunately, this could have certain consequences, as they see it, in terms of exerting pressure on European communities,” he said.

Podolyak also noted that prolonging the war by using resources leads to a certain fatigue in European countries and the broader West.

Issue of the West lifting the taboo on long-range weapons for Ukraine

In September 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained why Ukraine urgently needed long-range capabilities, as Russia was moving its targets deeper into the country.

At that time, restrictions on the use of Western weapons provided to Ukraine were still in place, with certain taboos imposed by the US and the UK.

On November 18, the US allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles to strike targets on Russian territory. It was also revealed that the Biden administration permitted strikes on Russian rear areas using Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles, which contain American components.

Additionally, similar permissions were granted by the governments of the UK and France, whose defense companies manufacture these missiles, but with limitations, restricting their use to the Kursk region.

Earlier, RBC-Ukraine published a separate article explaining why Russia can’t fight for years, or when Putin will run out of people

At the beginning of the new year, the terrorist group Hamas launched rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the southern regions of Israel, reports the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Terrorists fired two missiles from the central part of the Gaza Strip toward the southern Israeli city of Netivot.

Sirens were heard in the city and surrounding areas, located about 10 kilometers from Gaza.

According to the military, one missile was intercepted, and the other fell in an open area in the western part of the Negev Desert.

There are no reports of casualties from the attack.

The Hamas group claimed responsibility for the shelling.

Israel-Hamas war

On October 7, 2023, militants from the Palestinian group Hamas launched an attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. In the first hours of the invasion, over 1,200 people were killed, and more than 250 hostages were taken.

Since October, the Israeli army has been conducting a military operation in Gaza, which is still ongoing.

On December 26, Hamas and Israel exchanged accusations over the delay in the ceasefire, which had been previously agreed upon. Hamas claimed that Israel had imposed additional conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of deviating from the agreements that had already been made.

Also, last week, IDF forces eliminated the head of Hamas’s Security Department. He had been hiding in a command center located in the building of a former school.

In the Republic of Korea, a court has allowed authorities to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol as part of a criminal investigation into his decree to impose martial law. This marks the first time in the country’s history that a sitting president has been placed under arrest, reports Reuters.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) confirmed that the Seoul Western District Court approved an arrest warrant issued at the request of investigators probing the brief imposition of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The ousted president is under investigation on charges of being the leader of an uprising (rebellion). This is one of the few criminal charges from which the President of South Korea has no immunity. A separate case regarding impeachment is being heard in the Constitutional Court.

The current arrest warrant is valid until January 6 and gives investigators only 48 hours to hold Yoon in custody after his arrest. After that, they must decide whether to request a new arrest warrant or release him.

According to Yonhap news agency, after his arrest, President Yoon will be held at the Seoul Detention Center.

Yoon’s lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, called the arrest warrant unlawful and invalid, arguing that under the law, the Prosecutor General does not have the authority to request the issuance of such a warrant. He stated that the president’s legal team would file a petition with the Constitutional Court to suspend the warrant.

The district court issued the warrant due to the possibility that Yoon might fail to appear without a valid reason, as well as significant grounds to suspect him of committing a crime.

The arrest warrant for the sitting president is unprecedented and deepens the political crisis gripping the Republic of Korea, the fourth-largest economy in Asia and a key ally of the US.

Hundreds of Yoon’s supporters gathered outside his residence on December 31 to protest the issuance of the warrant, with some clashing with the police.

Further process is uncertain

It is currently unclear when and how the arrest warrant for Yoon will be executed. The Presidential Security Service stated that they would consider the arrest warrant under proper legal procedures. The court has also approved a warrant to search the former president’s residence.

Earlier, the police attempted but were unable to search Yoon’s office as part of the investigation, as the presidential security service blocked access.

At present, the prosecution has filed charges against three high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Defense due to Yoon’s declaration of martial law.

Charges in the martial law case have also been brought against former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, with the first hearing scheduled for January 16, as well as against Yeo In-hyung, chief of Defense Counterintelligence Command, and Lee Jin-woo, commander of the Capital Defense Command. It is expected that more charges will be filed.

On Tuesday, as part of the investigation, authorities conducted searches at the offices of military counterintelligence.

Attempted coup in South Korea

On December 3, the then-President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared a state of martial law in the country. The president intended to prohibit political activities and censor the media, marking the first such order since the 1980s.

The South Korean parliament rejected the decision to impose martial law, and protesters clashed with the police in the streets. Due to the tense situation, the president rescinded the martial law, which lasted about six hours.

On December 14, parliament declared Yoon’s impeachment. He was removed from office, and his powers were transferred to the country’s prime minister, Han Duck-soo.

Han became the acting president, but on December 27, he was also impeached after he refused to approve the judges to the Constitutional Court appointed by the parliament.

The new acting president became Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.

The next hearing in Yoon’s case at the Constitutional Court is scheduled for Friday, January 3.

Kim Yong-min, a member of the opposition Democratic Party, which holds the majority in parliament and initiated the impeachment vote against Yoon, stated on Tuesday: “The process of executing the warrant and the investigation may be very complex,” urging investigators to immediately carry out the warrants.

The investigation revealed that Yoon allowed the military to shoot at protesters blocking the entrance to parliament.

Additionally, on December 27, the Constitutional Court began considering the case against Yoon Suk Yeol regarding the impeachment declaration.

On December 30, investigators requested an arrest warrant for the suspended president.