Ukraine gets further support – Foreign Minister comments on pre-emptive strikes

Created: 2022-12-13, 6:34 p.m

By: Teresa Toth, Karolin Schäfer, Vincent Büssow, Nail Akkoyun, Christian Weihrauch, Stefan Krieger, Jan-Frederik Wendt, Sandra Kathe, Moritz Serif, Nadja Austel, Kilian Bäuml, Lucas Maier, Jan Oeftger

The Ukrainian army wants to continue its counter-offensive against the Russian occupiers.

The situation in the Ukraine war in the news ticker.

• Annexed territory:

  Heavy fighting in the eastern Donetsk region

• Lack of enthusiasm:

  Moscow worries about anti-war sentiment in Russia

• Editor's note:

  Read the latest developments in the Ukraine conflict in our news ticker.

  The information on the Ukraine war processed here comes partly from the warring parties in Russia and Ukraine.

  They can therefore not be independently checked in part.

+++ 5.30 p.m .:

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, answers the French television channel TF1 evasively when asked whether Ukraine should preventively attack military targets in Russia in order to better defend itself: “First of all, we attack Russian positions in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

That is our first goal,” said Kuleba.

He understands that the media want to know what's going on in Russia.

"But let the Russians think, evaluate and draw their own conclusions from what is happening in their own country," the minister said.

Ukrainian soldiers fire French MO-120-RT-61 120mm mortars at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine.

© Libkos/dpa

Ukraine war news: Ukraine gets more support

+++ 4 p.m .:

At an international supporters’ conference for Ukraine in Paris, there were pledges of around one billion euros.

The main focus is on material aid to restore the energy and water supply, for the transport and health services and for the food sector, said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

"With the aid, we have a direct impact on the lives of millions of people." The emergency aid intended to help Ukraine over the winter included generators, transformers, building materials and fire engines.

The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope

View photo gallery

+++ 2:00 p.m .:

When is peace in Ukraine possible?

Moscow has given a first answer to this question.

So she has to

First of all, Ukraine must accept the “new realities”.

Only then is peace possible, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the 

news agency .

This includes taking over Ukrainian territories.

Kiev sees a prerequisite for a solution to the conflict that Russia ends its war of aggression and withdraws its soldiers.

.

Ukraine War News: Heavy fighting in the eastern Donetsk region

+++ 11.15 a.m .:

Russia and Ukraine are still fighting for full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, two of four areas that the Kremlin had annexed after a vote rejected by most countries as illegal.

In particular, Moscow is attacking the Ukrainian energy infrastructure with waves of rocket and drone attacks.

Power cuts continue to occur to millions of civilians.

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"Slightly more than 50 percent of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic is liberated," Denis Pushilin, the Russia-appointed administrator of the Moscow-controlled part, told the Russian state news agency RIA.

This was reported by the

news agency on Tuesday (December 13).

Ukraine war news: Moscow worried about anti-war sentiment in Russia

+++ 10.05 a.m .:

According to British intelligence experts, the Russian leadership is concerned about the increase in anti-war sentiment in their country.

This is indicated by the cancellation of the traditional annual press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Defense Ministry's daily intelligence update in London on Tuesday (December 13).

"Kremlin officials are almost certainly very concerned about the possibility that an event attended by Putin could be hijacked for an illicit discussion of the 'military special operation,'" the statement tweeted.

Putin's major annual press conference has taken place a total of 17 times since 2001.

There were interruptions only in 2005 and in the years 2008-2012, when Dmitry Medvedev held the presidency.

Hundreds of Russian and foreign media representatives traveled to the event.

News about the Ukraine war: Heavy fighting in Nikopol

+++ 8.58 a.m .:

On the night of Tuesday (December 13), Russia is said to have fired heavily on the Nikopol region.

This is reported by the Ukrainian news portal

citing the head of the local military administration.

According to this, "the occupiers terrorized Nikopol all night." Dozens of houses and power lines were damaged in the shelling with multiple rocket launchers and heavy artillery.

News in the Ukraine war: fighting for Bakhmut and Avdiivka continues

+++ 7.40 a.m .:

According to reports from Kiev, heavy fighting for the villages of Bakhmut and Avdiivka in Donbass in eastern Ukraine continues.

Several advances by Russian troops were repelled there, the Ukrainian general staff said on Monday evening.

Several attacks with Russian multiple rocket launchers were reported from Cherson in southern Ukraine.

There were dead and injured, it said.

The information could not be independently verified.

In several attacks by the Ukrainian air force and the barrel and rocket artillery, Russian troops and armored vehicles were targeted, sources in Kiev said.

However, the military did not provide any more detailed information about the location.

News about the Ukraine war: Selenskyj expects further attacks

Update from December 13, 2022, 5:25 a.m.:

"After every Russian attack, we restore the system as far as possible," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday evening (December 12) in his daily video address.

Everything is being done to bring new equipment into the country and repair the damage.

Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that Russia has not given up its tactics.

"The absence of massive rocket attacks only means that the enemy is preparing for new ones and can strike at any time," Zelenskyy said.

According to estimates by the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Russia still has an arsenal of around 360 cruise missiles.

This would be enough for at least five waves of attacks, said spokesman Vadim Skibizkyj.

News about the Ukraine war: All thermal power plants damaged

+++ 10:15 p.m .:

Almost a month after the large-scale offensive against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the situation remains tense.

Russia has damaged all of Ukraine's thermal power plants in attacks.

This was announced by Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko via the press service of the Ministry of Energy.

"All thermal power plants were damaged by Russian missiles and 44 high-voltage air lines are without power." In addition to repair work on the damaged power plants, Ukraine is also expanding its nuclear power generation.

This is necessary in order to intercept the resulting energy deficit.

Ukraine war news: Russia uses ammunition that is over 40 years old

+++ 9:35 p.m .:

Russia should use inferior ammunition that is decades old.

This is reported by Bayrischer

, citing US military circles.

Some of the ammunition is said to be more than 40 years old, which leads to high failure rates.

"In other words, you load the ammo, cross your fingers and hope it can be fired or that it explodes on impact," the

quoted an anonymous insider as saying.

An independent verification of the information has not been possible so far.

+++ 9:10 p.m .:

The attacks of the troops from Russia are currently focused on four directions.

According to the General Staff of Ukraine, troops loyal to Moscow are trying to advance towards the cities of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Zaporizhia.

In the other places, Russia is only trying to hold the positions, according to the report.

In the past 24 hours, Russian soldiers are said to have carried out four rocket attacks on the civilian infrastructure of the city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region.

Cherson in southern Ukraine is said to have been attacked with multiple rocket launchers.

The information has not yet been independently verified.

Ukraine war news: Russia plunders civilian infrastructure in Cherson

+++ 19:25:

Russian soldiers are said to have started looting civilian infrastructure in the Cherson region in eastern Ukraine.

On Sunday (December 11), Russian troops reportedly seized equipment from local farms, spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Shtupun said in a video on the current situation.

News in the Ukraine war: According to Selenskyj, no nuclear attack in sight 

+++ 6.30 p.m .:

Vladimir Putin “loves life and is afraid of death” and will therefore not use nuclear weapons.

This is what the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview

David Letterman on Netflix.

“I saw him (Putin) and I saw his desire to live.

He loves life very much - he even sits behind a long table... because he's afraid of COVID-19 or something else," Zelenskyy said on the show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.

News from the Ukraine war: Russia is producing hundreds of missiles

+++ 6:00 p.m .:

The West has repeatedly imposed sanctions against Russia since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, these should not have prevented Russia from producing more cruise missiles.

This was stated by the deputy head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Vadym Skibitsky, to the

.

Accordingly, Russia is said to have produced 240 air-launched Kh-101 cruise missiles and about 120 sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles since February.

The information could not be independently verified.

News from the Ukraine war: Russia is keeping the use of nuclear weapons open

+++ 16:41:

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia wants to stick to its doctrine of keeping open the use of nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack on Russia.

writes

, citing the Russian news agency Interfax.

Since 2020, the use of nuclear weapons on the Russian side has only been possible if an adversary uses weapons of mass destruction against Russia or one of its allies, or if Russia's existence is threatened by conventional weapons.

Against the background of the US doctrine that nuclear weapons should also be used as a first strike, Russia must think about its own security, said President Putin.

In response to international pressure, Russia recently scaled back its threats of nuclear war.

However, according to the Kremlin spokesman, there will be no self-commitment to renounce nuclear weapons in the short term.

News from the Ukraine war: EU increases military aid by two billion euros

+++ 3.35 p.m .:

At the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, the participants agreed to increase military aid to Ukraine.

Two billion euros more are to be made available for the coming year.

This was announced by foreign affairs officer Josep Borrell in Brussels on Monday.

The agreement still has to be formally confirmed in early 2023.

As the news agency

reports, the additional funds for military aid could even rise to 5.5 billion euros at a later date.

The money goes into a fund that EU member states can use to finance arms purchases for Ukraine.

Military missions in Africa also benefit from the fund.

Because of the Ukraine war, the money that was supposed to last until 2027 has almost been used up, according to the

.

News in the Ukraine war: Kiev is again pushing for air defense systems

+++ 3:03 p.m .:

The Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal has renewed the demands for new arms deliveries to the French broadcaster LCI.

In view of the ongoing shelling of Ukrainian targets with Russian missiles, the Ukrainian army particularly needs modern air defense systems such as the "Patriot" system.

Schmyhal warns that Europe must expect increasing numbers of people fleeing Ukraine in winter because Russia is attacking critical infrastructure such as energy and water supplies.

According to Schmyhal, around 50,000 to 70,000 rockets reach Ukraine every day.

At least a third of this amount of ammunition is needed for defense.

News on the Ukraine war: British Ministry of Defense - Russia without clout

+++ 8.30 a.m .:

According to British assessments, Russia currently does not have the ability to conquer Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defense in London announced on Monday (December 12) that Russia is still sticking to its minimum goal - complete control over the southern and eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia.

"However, it is currently unlikely that the Russian strategy will achieve its goal," it said, citing intelligence findings.

The Russian troops are currently hardly in a position to reconquer recently lost areas.

"Russia's ground forces are unlikely to make significant operational progress in the next few months."

News about the Ukraine war: Biden assures Selenskyj of further support

+++ 7.40 a.m .:

US President Joe Biden has promised Ukraine further support in the Russian attack.

In a phone call with Zelenskyy, Biden promised that the United States would continue to help the attacked country defend itself against the Russian aggressor.

This was announced by the White House.

Biden backed his statements with recent US pledges in the area of ​​military aid and to rebuild Ukraine's infrastructure.

News on the Ukraine war: Repair center opened on the Slovakian-Ukrainian border

+++ 7.20 a.m .:

With a new repair center near the Slovakian border with Ukraine, governments and the defense industry want to ensure the continued use of heavy weapons to ward off the Russian war of aggression.

The base has started operations, Brigadier General Christian Freuding, head of the Ukraine special staff at the Defense Ministry, told the dpa news agency.

The tank builder Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is now organizing the repair of large weapons in the region that were worn out or damaged in the fighting in the Ukraine, such as the Panzerhaubitze 2000. 

News about the Ukraine war: Selenskyj thanks the USA

First report from Monday, December 12:

Ukrainian President Selenskyj

US President Joe Biden thanked the government in Washington for the help in a telephone call.

"I thanked the unprecedented US defense and financial assistance to Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

This not only contributes to success on the battlefield, but also supports the stability of the Ukrainian economy.” (Editorial with agencies)