Enlarge image
Basement in a building in Kherson that a war crimes prosecutor says was used by Russian forces as a torture facility
Photo:
Evgeniy Maloletka / dpa
What has happened in the past few hours
According to Ukrainian sources,
children were also abused
in the recently liberated
city of Cherson
.
"We found ten torture chambers in the Kherson region, four of them in the city of Kherson," said Dmytro Lubinets, the human rights commissioner of the Ukrainian parliament.
»In one of the torture chambers we found a separate room, a cell where children were kept... even the occupiers called it that,
a children's cell.
«
The only difference between the cell and the adjoining rooms is that the occupiers laid thin mats on the floor.
The children only got water irregularly and practically no food.
In addition, psychological pressure was put on them, said Lubinets.
"They told them their parents had left them and weren't coming back."
Lubinets provided no evidence to support his claims.
His statements could not be independently verified.
Russia denies ill-treatment of civilians.
The
Ukrainian domestic secret service SBU
has found "propaganda writings"
in Orthodox churches and monasteries
in renewed
raids
into possible connections to Russia .
During searches of religious sites across the country, he seized "Russian passports, propaganda literature and permits" issued by the Russian occupation authorities, the SBU said on Wednesday.
With the measures he wanted to "protect the population from provocation and terrorist acts".
The internal intelligence service had previously announced "counterintelligence measures" at more than a dozen religious sites in several Ukrainian regions, including Lviv in the west, Kherson in the south and Zhitomir in the north-west.
That says Kyiv
After new Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, President
Volodymyr Zelenskyj relies
on more modern and more effective anti-aircraft systems from the West.
"This week we made significant progress on the issue of anti-aircraft defense," he said in a video message broadcast in Kyiv on Wednesday evening.
He did not give details.
According to media reports, the US government is considering supplying the modern Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
The plans still have to be approved by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, several US media reported, citing unnamed government sources.
The Patriot system (»Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target«) would create new conditions in Ukraine.
With its guided missiles, aircraft, cruise missiles, drones or rockets can also be shot down at a greater distance.
Zelenskyj also reported that 13 Russian drones had been shot down on Wednesday morning.
"That means 13 spared infrastructure objects, that's saved lives," he said.
Ukraine is constantly expanding its air defenses.
"And we are doing everything to get more modern and more effective systems for Ukraine." Without giving details, Zelenskyj said that agreements to strengthen the country's defense capabilities are being worked on.
Zelenskyj also complained that Russia was only aiming for destruction and wanted to reduce everything to rubble and ashes.
"There is no peace at the front." At the same time, the President reported that once again 64 Ukrainian officers and soldiers had been released from Russian captivity.
Moscow says so
The
Kremlin
has commented on reports that the US is considering supplying the Patriot system to Ukraine.
If the US approves the delivery, the system would "definitely" be a legitimate target for Russian attacks on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
He also said that a truce is not on the agenda over the Christmas period.
The
Russian embassy in Washington
sees the US government's plans as a provocation.
This could lead to unforeseeable consequences, the embassy warned on Telegram.
"Even without the provision of Patriots, the United States is getting deeper and deeper into the conflict," it said.
And: "It is the United States that is responsible for the prolongation and escalation of the Ukraine conflict."
International Reactions
The US
apparently wants to provide Ukraine with precision military components.
This is reported by the Washington Post.
With the help of the special electronic equipment, unguided rockets can be converted into self-guiding missiles (»smart bombs«) and achieve a high degree of targeting accuracy.
The newspaper cites US government officials familiar with the matter.
In view of the new security situation caused by Russia 's war of aggression, the NATO countries
have agreed on a significant increase in joint spending.
According to information from the alliance on Wednesday, the civilian budget will increase by around 28 percent to 370.8 million euros in the coming year;
the military budget by around 26 percent to 1.96 billion euros.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that only together can we offer security to the approximately one billion people in the NATO countries in a more dangerous world.
According to the current contribution scale, the Federal Republic of Germany, together with the USA, currently bears the largest share of NATO's joint costs.
Both countries each contribute around 16.3 percent - in 2021 that was around 400 million euros each.
The key was recently revised to accommodate former US President Donald Trump: the German share increased and the US share fell significantly.
Canada
is revoking a temporary sanctions exemption for Siemens Energy turbines on Russia's Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline Foreign Secretary Melanie Joly and Natural Resources Secretary Jonathan Wilkinson said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The decision to reintroduce sanctions was made in close cooperation with Ukraine, Germany and other European allies.
The pipeline, which runs beneath the Baltic Sea, was shut down for repairs on August 31 but was not subsequently put back into service.
In September, both Nord Stream 1 and its sister pipeline, Nord Stream 2, were damaged by explosions.
According to European governments, the leaks were due to sabotage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Western claims that Russia was behind the blasts "crazy" and blamed the West.
Because of the sanctions against Russia, Canada had refused direct return transport of the turbine, but accepted delivery to Germany for subsequent transfer to Russia.
Russia had previously cut gas supplies to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, citing the missing turbine, which Siemens Energy was servicing in Canada.
humanitarian situation
The school trade union GEW complains that thousands of children and young people who have fled Ukraine have been waiting in Germany for months for a place at school.
States and municipalities must therefore launch emergency programs and equip schools much better, union boss Maike Finnern told the editorial network Germany.
This is the only way that children and young people who fled from the Russian war of aggression could be better integrated.
By the end of November, more than 200,000 pupils who had fled Ukraine had been admitted to German schools.
The Education and Training Association (VBE) also pushed for more staff positions.
What is happening today
At the EU summit in Brussels, the participants will discuss, among other things, Russia's war of aggression, the energy crisis, the economic situation and security and defense plans.
Contrary to what was originally planned, the summit should only last one day, but it should go on until Friday night.
In Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reports to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Ukraine.
The results of the following study will be presented in Berlin: »Refugees from the Ukraine in Germany – Escape, Arrival and Life«.
aar/dpa/Reuters