Ukraine Update…282 days into the Russian move on the Ukraine

As Ukraine endures its 10th month of war and faces the frigid months ahead, nations around the world are increasing aid to the country. The Pentagon is preparing to send Ukraine the Patriot missile system, which would be the most advanced air defense weapon in Kyiv’s hands, senior U.S. officials told The Washington Post on Tuesday. Dozens of nations and institutions at a conference in Paris also upped their commitment to Ukraine on Tuesday, pledging to donate more than $1 billion in aidaimed at short-term support for the country during the winter months. More than $440 million of that aid is expected to go to Ukraine’s energy network.

Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the world.

• A U.S. Air Force veteran has been freed following a prisoner swap with Russia, a senior Ukrainian official announced Wednesday. Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office of Ukraine, said Suedi Murekezi was released alongside 64 Ukrainian soldiers. According to his family, Murekezi, a noncombatant who moved to Ukraine in 2018, was captured by pro-Russian separatists in the southern city of Kherson in early June. As the pace of exchanges has picked up, former Ukrainian prisoners of war have told The Post of the abuse they faced while in Russian captivity.
• His brother, Sele Murekezi, said Wednesday in a phone call that while Suedi Murekezi had been released from imprisonment in October, he was not allowed to leave the separatist areas. “He’s relieved,” the brother said. “Basically, he was stuck where he was.”
• The drone attacks early Wednesday on Kyiv, in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, were the first in weeks. The district covers the center of the city, extending to the east, and includes Kyiv’s city hall and some ministries and universities. Air raid sirens ended about 9 a.m. Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said preliminary information on the attacks indicated that 13 drones were sent and all were shot down. The Ukrainian military identified themas Iranian-made Shahed drones. The claims could not be immediately verified by The Post. The national power grid operator, Ukrenergo, said the strikes did not damage energy facilities, but it warned of ongoing challenges because of previous Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector.
• Ukraine’s security service said Wednesday on Telegram that it raided facilities belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in nine regions. “These measures are carried out, among other things, to prevent the use of religious communities as a center of ‘Russian peace’ and to protect the population from provocations and terrorist attacks,” the Telegram post said. Photos shared by the security service showed agents combing through churches as part of inspections “to identify persons who may be involved in illegal activities.” Ukraine’s national security council introduced sanctions Monday against seven members of the church, which has come under scrutiny for its links to Moscow.
• Nations around the world pledged at least $67 million for food and water in Ukraine, $18 million for the health sector and $23 million for transportation at a donor conference Tuesday in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron said the pledges are “tangible proof that Ukraine is not alone.” U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk described the Paris conference as “a success” in an interview with The Post and noted the presence of non-Western countries including India and Indonesia.
• The United States charged five Russian nationals, an American citizen and a U.S. permanent resident with helping Russia evade sanctions by assisting with global procurement of weapons and money laundering on behalf of the Russian government. One of the Russians is a suspected Federal Security Service officer who was arrested in Estonia and will undergo proceedings for extradition to the United States, the Justice Department said. The other four Russians remain at large, it said, while the U.S. citizen and resident were also arrested.

• Ukraine announced two developments in efforts to produce equipment for its fight against Russia.Ukraine’s parliament ratified an agreement with Turkey that will allow for the construction of a factory in Ukraine to manufacture Turkish Bayraktar drones. Ukraine has also launched production of 152mm and 122mm shells, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of national security and the Defense Council of Ukraine, said Tuesday during a telethon, according to the Ukrinform broadcasting platform.
• Russian forces continue to strike Kherson, a port city on the Dnieper River that has been under bombardment this week. In the latest attack, Russian rockets hit the regional administration building there, damaging two floors, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office. No injuries were reported. Footage posted to Twitter showed a plume of smoke rising from the top of the building, where Ukrainians raised the country’s flag after recapturing the city last month.
• Vitaly Bulyuk, the Russian-appointed deputy head of the occupied Kherson region, was injured in a car blast that killed the driver, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported. Bulyuk’s injuries are not life-threatening, according to Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed head of the occupied region, who vowed to find and punish those who carried out the “attack.”
• A withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine by the end of the year is “out of the question,” the Kremlin said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said a peace deal with Kyiv is “impossible.” The Kremlin continues to call the war “a special military operation.”….

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