Day 232: Kyiv Region Hit By Drone Strikes; UN General Assembly Votes to Condemn Russian Annexations

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Facts

  • Ukraine's capital, and its surrounding region, were hit by Iranian-made, Shahed-136, kamikaze drones early on Thursday, officials said. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said "critical infrastructure facilities" were targeted but didn't specify which. There were no reports of civilian casualties at this stage.
  • The attack came shortly after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to condemn Russia's annexation of four regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, by a margin of 143-5, with 35 abstentions. Russia, Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Belarus voted against, while abstentions came from countries including China, India, Pakistan and South Africa.
  • The General Assembly resolution, which labeled the annexations "illegal" and called on Russia to withdraw from all Ukrainian territories, is the third criticizing the Russian invasion. Unlike UN Security Council resolutions, where Russia has veto power, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding.
  • Meanwhile, further Russian attacks were reported in the regions of Mykolaiv, where one civilian was reported killed and seven others were still missing, and Zaporizhzhia, where nine civilians were reported injured. Strikes were also reported in Sumy, where three electrical stations were allegedly destroyed, and in the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk, where one civilian was reported injured.
  • The attacks came as defense ministers from NATO countries came together for a meeting of the Nuclear Planning Group at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Thursday. Its agenda includes NATO nuclear drills planned for next week, as well as the strength of Ukraine's missile defense capabilities.
  • Elsewhere, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin held sideline talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at an economic conference in the Kazakh capital of Astana. Ahead of their meeting, Erdogan said his goal was to "stop the bloodshed as soon as possible." It is expected that the Turkish leader will again suggest that he play a role in negotiating a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.

Sources: Associated Press, Guardian, Independent, Pravda, and Yenisafak.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Guardian. Wednesday's UN General Assembly vote issues a clear message to Russia from the rest of the world - Moscow cannot expand its borders by brute force or illegally annex foreign territory through unjustified occupation.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. Western nations only achieved this anti-Russian resolution by threatening developing countries with all sorts of punishments if they failed to support their aggression. Russia is well aware that other nations are employing diplomatic terror tactics in order to target the Kremlin.

Predictions