'Unpredictable Consequences': Russia's US Ambassador warns Biden over Patriot delivery to Ukraine
Created: 2022-12-16 04:52
By: Sven Hauberg, Bettina Menzel, Fabian Müller
The Russian embassy has issued a warning to the Biden government following reports of a shipment of Patriot defense systems.
The news ticker on Ukraine diplomacy.
USA
wants to train
Ukrainian soldiers
in Germany: the number should more than double
Lavrov spokeswoman
on
Pope Francis
: Vatican has apologized for Russia statements
NATO and the EU
are probably preparing a joint
declaration
on the Ukraine war: for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, the two institutions are addressing Russia as one.
This
news ticker on diplomatic developments
in the Ukraine war is constantly updated.
Update from December 15, 10:14 p.m .:
The EU member states have decided on another package of sanctions against Russia because of its war of aggression against Ukraine.
The ambassadors of the 27 countries agreed on Thursday evening in Brussels on the ninth package of sanctions since February, as the Czech Council Presidency announced on Twitter.
Almost 200 other institutions and those responsible must now expect to be subject to property and entry bans in Europe.
The summit of EU heads of state and government met in Brussels on Thursday.
According to diplomats, Council President Charles Michel insisted during the meeting that the EU ambassadors would agree on the sanctions package.
This now has to be formally confirmed, which according to diplomats should take place in the written procedure by Friday noon.
'Unpredictable Consequences': Russia's US Ambassador warns Biden over Patriot delivery to Ukraine
Update from December 15, 8:32 p.m .:
If the United States, as announced, make the Patriot missile defense system available to Ukraine, according to the Russian ambassador to the United States, this could lead to “unpredictable consequences”.
Global security would then be threatened, the embassy wrote in a statement on Wednesday.
If the Patriot system is indeed delivered, "we will witness another provocative move by the administration
[by President Biden, ed.],
" the embassy continued.
Continued arms shipments to Ukraine would only reinforce the "Zelenskyi regime's sense of impunity and propel it to new crimes against the civilian population."
US support for Ukraine would do enormous damage to the Russian-US relationship.
More than twice as many: USA wants to train more Ukrainian soldiers in Germany
Update from December 15, 7:51 p.m .:
The Pentagon wants to train more Ukrainian soldiers in US bases on German soil in the future.
The number is to be more than doubled in the future, the project was already approved by President Joe Biden this week, reports the
New York Times
.
From the beginning of 2023, a Ukrainian battalion - around 600 to 800 soldiers - is to be trained every month.
This will significantly increase the number of Ukrainians the United States is training outside the country.
At the same time, the training is to be redesigned, details of which are not known.
According to the Defense Department, the United States has trained 3,100 Ukrainian soldiers, mostly in small groups, on special weapons such as HIMARS rocket launchers since the war broke out in February.
The new training program is scheduled to take place at a US Army base in Grafenwoehr, where the Pentagon conducts its own weapons exercises.
also read
Wave of illness in the Kremlin probably triggers great concern for Putin
READ
War with NATO?
Military expert stuns even Russian TV presenter: "Inevitable in the near future"
READ
Medvedev threatens the West with "the most powerful weapons of destruction" - Zelenskyj sets a condition for the peace plan
READ
From Putin friend to Kremlin enemy: Khodorkovsky describes three scenarios for the end of the Ukraine war
READ
Kosovo conflict: USA reject Serbia's wish - Bundeswehr man sees "constant basis for escalations"
READ
Fancy a journey of discovery?
My space
China ambassador emphasizes: Friendship with Russia has "no borders" - but there is a red line
Update from December 15, 6:05 p.m .:
The United States has imposed new sanctions on the very rich Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin and a number of Russian companies.
This will further deepen Russia's "isolation from global markets," the US Treasury Department said on Thursday.
"This will further limit the ability of the Putin regime to fund its horrific war against Ukraine."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new sanctions are a "clear message" that the US is using the tools at its disposal to urge Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Potanin is the second richest man in Russia, according to Forbes magazine, with a fortune of more than $26 billion (24 billion euros) and was once the country's deputy prime minister.
He has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Potanin is a co-owner of the Russian mining group Norilsk Nickel and, since this year, the owner of the bank Rosebank, which was also placed on the US sanctions list on Thursday.
China ambassador emphasizes: Friendship with Russia has "no borders" - but there is a red line
December 15 update, 4:28 p.m
.: China's ambassador to Paris, Lu Shaye, has emphasized his country's "borderless partnership" with Russia.
Lu said at a press event last week, the transcript of which has only now been published on the embassy's website, "We have normal relations between states.
We are all sovereign states and have the right to shape our cooperation in all areas.”
However, Lu, who is known for being a hardliner, also said that this friendship has a limit: the supply of arms.
However, the Kremlin has not yet asked China for arms supplies, Lu said.
The People's Republic is "neutral" and hopes that the "crisis" will be resolved through negotiations.
Lu accused the US of "pouring fuel on the fire" by supplying arms to Ukraine.
China has not yet condemned Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and maintains close ties with the Kremlin.
Although Beijing has always emphasized the importance of negotiations to end the war, the government led by state and party leader Xi Jinping has not taken any such steps so far.
Xi has instead been in close contact with Russia's President Putin, but has not spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once since the war broke out.
Gift from Ukraine explodes at Poland's police - public prosecutor investigates
Update from December 15, 3:44 p.m
.: A gift that the head of the authority received during a working visit to Ukraine exploded in the headquarters of the Polish police.
Police chief Jaroslaw Szymczyk suffered minor injuries in the explosion and was taken to a hospital, the Polish Interior Ministry said.
A civilian employee was also slightly injured but did not require medical treatment.
The explosion happened on Thursday morning in a room next to Szymczyk's office.
It was triggered by "one of the gifts that the police commander received during his working visit to Ukraine on December 11-12 this year".
There he met the leadership of the Ukrainian police and civil protection.
Szymczyks received the present, which exploded, from a head of a Ukrainian agency.
Poland has asked the Ukrainian side for explanations about the incident.
The prosecutor is investigating.
At the beginning of December, a series of letter bombs in Spain made headlines that were possibly related to the Ukraine conflict.
Lavrov spokeswoman on Pope Francis: Vatican has apologized for Russia statements
Update from December 15, 11:55 a.m .:
According to Russian information, Moscow has received an official apology from the Vatican for the statements made by Pope Francis last month.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Russia is treating the matter as closed and hopes for a constructive dialogue with the Vatican in the future.
Pope Francis said in an interview with the US magazine
America
in November : “In general, perhaps the most cruel are those who are from Russia but do not belong to the Russian tradition, like the Chechens, the Buryats and so on.” The accusation The "Holy Father" was directed against two population groups, the majority of which do not belong to the Christian faith.
Zakharova then described the Pope's statements as "perversion".
The President of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, had spoken of "a disgrace".
Pope Francis during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI Hall.
the sign of the cross.
© Andrew Medichini/AP/dpa
NATO and the EU are probably preparing a joint declaration on the Ukraine war for the first time - including Russia's demand
Update from December 15, 10:59 a.m .:
Almost nine months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO and the EU are probably preparing a joint statement for the first time.
Its content: Russia should end the war immediately.
A draft of the statement is partially available to
Politico
magazine .
The draft is to be published either at the beginning of next week or in the first days of the new year.
The statement is intended to call on Russia to immediately end its "brutal" war against Ukraine and to leave its territory.
In the statement, NATO and the EU should also declare their "unwavering and continued support" for the independence of the government.
"Further provocation": Russian embassy warns US government against Patriot deliveries
Update December 15, 7:30 a.m.:
The Russian embassy in the United States has warned the Biden government about the delivery of the Patriot anti-aircraft system to Ukraine.
The delivery would be a "further provocation" that could lead to unforeseeable consequences, the diplomatic mission said in a statement.
"Continued arms deliveries will only strengthen the Zelenskyy regime and drive it to new crimes against civilians in the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions," the Russian news agency TASS quoted the statement as saying.
In February, Moscow also justified the start of the war with reference to alleged crimes against the pro-Russian civilian population in eastern Ukraine.
There was no independent confirmation of the Russian allegations.
Several US media had already reported on Tuesday about a possible delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine.
“Washington's strategy not only does enormous damage to Russian-US relations, but also creates additional risks to global security.
It is the United States that is responsible for the prolongation and escalation of the Ukraine conflict," the Russian embassy continued in its statement.
Ukraine-News: Rheinmetall expands ammunition production in Germany
Update from December 15, 7:10 a.m .:
The German armaments company Rheinmetall has announced that it will expand its ammunition production in Germany.
With this, the group wants to ensure the independent supply of the Bundeswehr.
The decision is also in response to Switzerland's veto on the delivery of cheetah ammunition to Kyiv.
Zelenskyj sees "significant progress" in air defense:
Update from December 14, 9:45 p.m .:
After new Russian drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj relies on more modern and effective anti-aircraft systems from the West.
"This week we made significant progress on the issue of anti-aircraft defense," said Zelenskyy in his video message distributed in Kyiv on Wednesday evening.
He did not give details.
According to media reports, the US government is considering supplying the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy reported that 13 Russian drones were shot down in the 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, Zelenskyy said that agreements to strengthen the country's defense capabilities are being worked on
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
© Pool Philip Reynaers/BELGA/dpa
Defense Minister Lambrecht does not plan to transfer the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine
Update from December 14, 6:29 p.m .:
After reports of the Patriot air defense system being passed on by the USA to Ukraine, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) has not promised any such step from the German side.
Germany supports the NATO partner Slovakia and soon also Poland with the Patriot system, said Lambrecht on Wednesday in Berlin.
When it comes to air defense for Ukraine, the German side is dealing with Gepard tanks and the Iris-T system.
“That is our support service,” said Lambrecht.
In doing so, she answered a question as to whether the possible US delivery of Patriot systems would change the German position on the issue.
So far, the federal government had argued that the modern Patriot systems would not be supplied to Ukraine by any other NATO partner.
In the USA, the television broadcaster CNN and the New York Times
reported on Tuesday (local time)
, citing government circles, that the USA now wants to make the Patriot system available to Kiev after all.
The White House has yet to give the final green light, it said.
This could happen as early as this week.
Chancellor Scholz offers Moscow economic cooperation if Russia ends war
First report from December 14:
Berlin - After almost ten months of war, Olaf Scholz (SPD) sees the strategy of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a failure, as the German Chancellor said in a government statement in the Bundestag on Wednesday.
At the same time, he promised Ukraine further support as long as it was necessary.
In a speech on the anniversary of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations on Monday, the Chancellor had previously condemned Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but offered Moscow to resume economic cooperation if the war ended.
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded on Wednesday.
Moscow resolutely rejects Chancellor Scholz's offer
In a statement on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry referred to the German Chancellor's speech to the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, in which Scholz promised Moscow a resumption of bilateral cooperation to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
"But a Russia that ends the war and citizens in Russia who strive for a different future for themselves also need the opportunity to start economic cooperation again in a different time," said Scholz on Monday said.
"We will not ask for anything, and politicians in Germany should make that clear once and for all," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in response to Scholz's speech on Wednesday.
At the same time, the ministry in Moscow blamed Scholz for the break in economic and energy cooperation between the two countries.
"Nor did the head of government of the Federal Republic of Germany explain why Berlin so bashfully and cowardly refrained from investigating the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which cut off the German economy from cheap Russian natural gas," it said.
Scholz's omissions testified to the limitations of German politics, the statement said.
(AP)
.
