Kyiv Post Morning Memo – Everything You Need to Know on Thursday, Dec. 1

Good morning from Kyiv where the sun is shining for the first time this week, though it’s still a very chilly -3 degrees and there is snow everywhere.

What’s happening today?

Ukraine is still braced for an expected mass missile attack from Russian forces as they continue their campaign to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as temperatures plummet. Yesterday was a quiet day with no air raid alerts in the capital, but that could change today.

In more positive news, Germany last night passed a motion recognizing the Holodomor, or death by starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-33, as an act of genocide.

Awareness of the Holodomor has been slow to come to light in the 90 years since it began, so the move is highly welcome.

And elsewhere, President Zelensky has reignited his feud with Elon Musk and invited him to Ukraine so he can see for himself just what Russia has done to the country. You can read more about that story here.

What was Zelensky’s latest message?

Well, it was very intriguing indeed. During his daily address on Wednesday evening and without going into specifics, the president spoke of preparing a “more powerful countermeasure” for areas of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia.

He said: “We are analyzing the intentions of the occupiers and are preparing a countermeasure – an even more powerful countermeasure than now.

“We considered the issue of providing for the military and supplying new equipment and ammunition.”

Other Topics of Interest

‘Who Will Join the Meat Grinder?’ – Russia Reassigns Drone Operators, Sparking Z-Blogger Criticism

A growing number of ad hoc units in the Russian army that have reduced available infantry personnel for assault operations could be why Moscow is throwing drone operators into the grinder.

So watch this space.

What’s the latest military situation?

The U.K. Ministry of Defence discusses Russia’s ongoing missile attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, saying it is causing “indiscriminate, widespread humanitarian suffering across Ukraine”.

It notes however that the effectiveness of the campaign has “likely been blunted because Russia has already expended a large proportion of its suitable missiles against tactical targets”.

It adds: “Also, with Ukraine having successfully mobilised for nine months, material and psychological effect of the [bombing] is likely less than if it was deployed in the initial period of a war.”

The Institute for the Study of War’s Nov. 30 daily assessment covers a multitude of topics, most notably:

• The Russian military’s efforts around Bakhmut suggest that Russian forces failed to learn from previous costly campaigns focused on operationally insignificant settlements.
• Russian state nuclear company Rosenergoatom appointed a new director for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
• Russian opinion polling suggests that the Russian public may be growing tired of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Anything else I need to know about?

Absolutely. While Kyiv is almost solely portrayed in the international media as a country where missiles explode, the power goes out and people queue in the streets for water, life here does go on even if you don’t see it on the news.

To highlight this, Kyiv Post has compiled “7 Totally Normal Things You Can Still Do in Wartime Kyiv“.

And that’s it for today’s Morning Memo.

Kyiv Post will bring you the latest news throughout the day and we’ll be back with another edition tomorrow.