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Added on the 22/11/2023 11:21:29 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
The first snow of the winter falls on Maidan Square in Kyiv, blanketing its statues and anti-tank obstacles as the Ukrainian capital faces blackouts and power outages from a fresh series of Russian strikes targeting the country's energy infrastructure. IMAGES
In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, ice and snow line the ground as the winter frost builds and temperatures plunge. Nearly half of Ukraine's energy system has already been damaged after months of strikes on power infrastructure, leaving people in the cold and dark for hours at a time as outdoor temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). IMAGES
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces in Kyiv a further $2 billion in military aid for Ukrainian forces holding back Russian onslaughts at several points across the sprawling front. The announcement comes at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba weeks after Washington approved a $61 billion package of aid for the country following months of delays in Congress. SOUNDBITE
Antony Blinken has been spotted taking a break from his busy touring schedule on his visit to Kyiv by jamming along to the Neil Young classic "Rockin' in the Free World" in a bar in the Ukrainian capital, with the audience clapping the US Secretary of State's guitar chops at the song's end. IMAGES
The United States will back Ukraine until the country's security is "guaranteed," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a speech in Kyiv. "We're with you today. And we will stay by your side, until Ukraine's security, sovereignty, its ability to choose its own path is guaranteed," Blinken says. SOUNDBITE
A hospital in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is evacuating its patients and staff over fears of Russian strikes following claims by Belarus's secret services that it, along with another medical facility, hosted military personnel. "The city is urgently beginning to evacuate two hospitals... because a video is widely circulated online, actually de facto announcing an enemy attack on these medical facilities," Kyiv's city administration said. IMAGES